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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28423830">FUBAR</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/momoch1/pseuds/momoch1'>momoch1</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>FUBAR - Defcon Lore [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>No Straight Roads (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Defcon lore time lets goooooo, Other, tw: depictions of gore, will update tags when necessary</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 19:02:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>23,630</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28423830</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/momoch1/pseuds/momoch1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>What are the DEFCON models everyone seems to be talking about in NSR? Well, they are security bots of the highest quality meant to protect the citizens of Vinyl City and their charter heads. Their creator, Vice Admiral Momo, is second-in-command of the grand navy owned by Admiral Neon J himself and was originally taken aboard to help keep 1010 in pristine condition for their concerts and fans to ogle at. After a year of working with NSR and making not only an older 1010 model function good as new again to help around Barraca Mansion and another robot band with the help of their Admiral, they are now working entirely on their own to make the first ever security robot from scratch, A.K.A a DEFCON! However, lets look back at the nearly finished process of the first ever one to be made, known simply as Zero, and the steps taken in order to become one!</p><p>Or, what would of been...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>FUBAR - Defcon Lore [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2081892</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Enter Zero</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>INITIALISING SENSORS . . .</span>
</p><p>
  <span>SENSORS LOADING . . . </span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>[</span>
  <span>██████████] 100% - LOADING COMPLETE</span>
</p><p>
  <span>BOOTING SYSTEMS . . .</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>SYSTEMS ONLINE.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>INSTALLING UPDATES . . .</span>
</p><p>
  <span>INSTALLATION COMPLETE.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>INITIALIZING SAFETY PROTOCOL VER. 3.0. . . .</span>
</p><p>
  <span>[</span>
  <span>██████████] 100% - PROTOCOL SUCCESSFULLY UPDATED.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>PREPARING USER INTERFACE . . .</span>
</p><p>
  <span>BOOTING SYSTEM . . .</span>
</p><p>
  <span>SECURITY BOT ONLINE.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“... It worked.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The lights flicker softly in the dimly lit laboratory, the only light being from the large monitor that hovers over a large dash with blinking lights littered with empty coffee cups as the new creation blinks their lenses. Its lenses buzz and fixates its new sensors down to look down at a small frame that barely goes up to their thigh. Messy hair, a pressed white uniform, and thick glasses with a pair of dark eyes heavy and sunken with lack of sleep. The small figure looks up at them with their tired eyes, a small glint in their beady irises with slight excitement as they see their own creation make their first movements. The tall robot looks down by tilting his head at the little creature as a small friendly smile grows over their slender face as a chipper tone fills their audiobox, a small strand of white synthetic hair falls over their forehead.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Indeed! I am now active and ready to protect whatever district you assign to me, my creator!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Again their eyes glinted at the response as their small frame rose with a deep breath they took to keep their excitement in check. They looked like a child on Christmas day that finally got what they wished for from Santa as they frantically wrote down on a frail clipboard their findings with haste.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Okay,” The little human started, “Do you know where you are?”. They click their pen eagerly as it hovers over their clipboard, awaiting the answer. The large security bot processes the demand as they give another comforting smile, finally kneeling down on one knee as their gears grinded and settled once they were at eye-level.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I believe this is a laboratory that resides in the famous Barraca Mansion in the Metro District in the heart of Vinyl City, is that correct? Second floor, 6th door to the east hall to the left. It is owned by Neon J and the popular boy band, 1010, as well as other faculty members. I am assuming you are one as well, creator?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Smooth. Everything they said was correct even down to which door they were both behind. Not only are they aware, their tracking systems are also operational. The human scribbled down the data they discovered and quickly looked back to make eye contact with their creation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Next question: who am I?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>This time there was no pause for an answer. “Why, you’re my creator! My systems are detecting in the NSR databases that you are Vice Admiral Momo, second-in-command to the head Admiral, Neon J, in the Metro Division district and now in charge of security and maintaining business operations for 1010.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Momo, as they are named, scribbles hastily on the clipboard again as they hang onto each word they said. The robot’s voice box is very clear and loud, as expected in order for others to understand their orders when danger arises. Their eyes, despite being narrow while they concentrated, were bright with enthusiasm in their dark pupils. Their sensors picked up their excited heartbeat and elevated body heat as they mumbled to themselves before looking up at the gigantic robot that has been observing them closely. There is a small pause before they speak again with a stern look-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Scan me for my body temperature.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With an obedient nod, the robot’s sensors opened as a soft ‘buzz’ could be heard along with a soft ‘ding’, signaling that the scan is complete. “98.7. Average”, he responds.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They scratch at their clipboard again. “Okay. Blood pressure reading.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“132/84 mm Hg,” the security robot answered, a little delayed as they analyzed the data. “Rather high even if excited. Are you sure you’re getting enough rest and-”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“BPM.” Momo cut them off as they dashed some quick numbers on the paper without looking away, their sharp analytical gaze looking them over again.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>A concerned pause. “... 18.5. Barely passable for healthy according to your weight, age, and hei-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t comment about my height.” Momo snapped. They nodded obediently and straightened up their spine. For somebody that’s 5 foot even, they sure are scary when upset.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, your sensors are rather accurate. Now I have to test to see if the rest of the procedures are updated as well so I know that you’re ready to be put to work.” Vice Admiral Momo strides back quickly to their desk and swipes an arm over all the empty coffee cups so they clatter on the floor in order to get more room to work on. The robot looks over slightly from where they stood to see their work station more clearly. It’s rather clean except for some coffee rings and crumbled paper littered around the floor underneath, the trash can filled with scrapped notes and a few mugs as well. Concerning, truly. At least he understood as to why their heart rate and blood pressure was so high. Their metallic eyebrows knit slightly at the messy sight as he analyzed the area as to what could be the fastest way to clean it to avoid casualties later if left unchecked before moving their legs slightly to commit the action-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>CRASH</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Momo quickly turned around at the loud sound behind them with a fearful look in their eyes, so quickly that it felt instinctual. A heavy sigh left their lips as they realized that it was simply the sound of the large robot falling over for they haven’t tested walking as of yet in their rather high heels Neon J wanted them to have as an intimidation factor and to ‘look sexy’.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Th-there seems to have been an error on my end…” The clumsy bot chirped as he fell face-first on the metallic flooring, his head next to a styrofoam cup that rolled towards him at impact. He looked up at the Vice Admiral who was typing something in quickly on the large hologram monitor that looked like another analysis as its cheeks panels glowed a brighter off-white hue. His first emotion since his creation, and ‘embarrassment’ is not a good one to start with. Looking over back at the cup near his head, he uses his rather long, blocky arms to snake around their body and wrap their large fingers around the cup. Within seconds it crumbled by his intense grip despite only using the softest of touches as he gritted his synthetic white teeth in discomfort at the sound it made. A quick glance back at Momo, who was now standing in front of them with a cocked eyebrow out of amusement, made them release the destroyed cup sheepishly as he tried to slowly stand up on the stilts that are called his ‘legs’.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We can… Work on all of that.” Momo adjusted their thick glasses as it glinted light off of the green monitor behind them. “You’re only a few minutes old, so I didn’t expect much out of you yet.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Direct hit. Ouch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As they balanced themselves on their heels until his stabilizers started to fully function in their hips, the robot looked down at the cup he absolutely destroyed with their thick fingers in disappointment. He wanted to clean up, but instead made another mess as bits of styrofoam floated helplessly in the drafty stale air that smelled strongly of caffeine and metal. They wanted to be of help as per their protocol, but instead proved themselves to be more of a hazard than what they were meant for. An overwhelming feeling started to swell in their chest cavity as they suddenly felt multiple things at once without warning. Not only did he embarrass himself in front of their own creator multiple times, he also felt like he failed their expectations they held so highly of him so swiftly, leaving a disappointed and sad hollow feeling inside of themselves. A small ‘ahem’ caught his attention as they looked over at the small human as they placed their hands on their hips as they looked back at him. Their expression was rather blank, making it difficult for their sensors to detect even the slightest emotion that he is programmed to be able to decipher to tell who is friend or foe in crowds to find suspicious individuals. However, their expression softened as another smaller sigh caused their small frame to heave slightly, their shoulders finally relaxing as they picked up the small pieces of white foam and tossed them onto the heaping trash with the rest of them as the sound of their footsteps filled the silence in the lab. I was almost stifling to him as he tried to open his mouth to speak an apology that was quickly cut short by Momo’s loud yet somewhat calming voice.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“No need to worry. That’s what the training we’re about to do is for. This was expected according to all the analysis that I have been keeping an eye on and I’m not really surprised by it all.” They clapped their hands of the excess debris as small particles of the cup floated around the air and some clinging to their pristine uniform that they quickly beat off. Even when their guard is down they are always on alert. The robot took a mental note and catalogued it in their internal hardware for reference. “Come on now, Zero. Let me take you over to the training room that we have 1010 go in now and then for their monthly check-ups.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“... Zero?” They tilted their head to the side in confusion like that of a puppy being told to shake for the first time. Is that-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your ‘name’,” the Vice Admiral answered. They then tap the left side of their neck with two fingers to signal him to do the same. He does so, feeling something etched into the side of his slender neck as he traced around the engraving; it indeed was a large ‘0’ with a small barcode underneath it. It seems to be his given serial number. “Each model is supposed to have one so I can keep track of who’s who, but since you’re not technically a complete model and simply a completed beta, you don’t really have an actual ‘number’ nor ‘name’. So, I’m just going to call you ‘Zero’ for simplicity sake.” Momo strode past Zero towards the large door behind him that stands at a hefty 15 feet tall, about as tall as he was, and pressed a button to open the automatic doors as they slid open silently to the brightly-lit hallway. By the way the sun was bouncing off the walls with an intense warm glow, it was around 2 PM. Zero’s sensors adjusted accordingly to the sudden light that bled into the cool, dark lab they were in before taking a cautious, shaking step out of the room and into the rest of the mansion with a gasp. So many new colors, sounds, and senses were introduced to him so quickly and they eagerly ate it up as they scanned the long halls. Paintings and navy memorabilia lined the walls along with the sleek white floors and walls shining brightly from the large windows.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Momo rolled their eyes and walked further down the hall towards the stairs that lead down to the main lobby. “Come on,” they shouted as their voice carried across over to him as he stood flabbergasted by all the beautiful lights dancing on the spotless floors. He gently walked on the thin rug in the middle of the hall to avoid falling over and to get a better understanding as to where their feet had to be over to their small creator who was waiting patiently for them at the head of the stairs. They watch them take small steps before starting to pick up the pace and taking longer strides until they are standing up straight with confidence as they stand next to the Vice Admiral with pride. A small grunt of approval rises from them as Momo walks down the stairs and stops midway to see if he can complete the rest of the pre-test: stairs. Zero stands stiffly as he analyzes each step before a satisfied grin spreads over their face as they take large steps down to the ground floor with caution, making sure his heel doesn’t slip on the sleek stairwell and his equilibrium stays steady. With a satisfied ‘clack’ of their metallic feet meeting the tiled floor, they heel-turn at the foot of the stairs to give a salute to their creator as they await their reaction.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A slight nod and raised eyebrows. The empty feeling that Zero was feeling in their chest cavity was suddenly filled with intense joy that made his systems buzz excitedly. It was a small gesture, but it was one from their own maker that they eagerly wish to please with a job well done. Their grin widened at their approval as their arms returned to parade rest and waited for them to meet them at the foot of the stairs. Momo did a quick glance up at Zero again with a somewhat puzzled expression.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“What’s with the grin? You’re not doing anything special.” They asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m just glad that I did a good job, is all.” Zero responded as they beamed, their brightly-colored body glowing brighter over the fact they realized their happiness.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Hmm…” Momo glared up at them intently as they rubbed their jaw with thin eyes, analyzing their expression more thoroughly then stepping back after gathering the information they needed. “Your personality update seems to be working rather quickly and in an advanced manner, even for me”, They stated bluntly. “I may need to fix that later to avoid anything extreme from happening.” Without further explanation, they continue walking down the long halls to a large studio with giant double metal doors separating what seems to be the dance studio to the main hallway.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Zero quickly catches up to them with a few strides as they ask, “What’s this ‘personality update’? Is it a program that I’m running currently?” Momo nods as they open the door as they open their mouth to reply, but they are quickly cut off with a chorus of-</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Vice Admiraaaaal~!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>In the brightly lit studio stood five colorful robots in matching uniform in front of the large mirror that lined one wall as they turned to look at the two standing in the doorway with an excited expressions (well, four of the five were for one had a thick pair of shades on despite being indoors and made it hard to see what they were expressing). The yellow one with the pointy hair of the group quickly ran up to Momo and scooped their little frame up into a big hug as they swung them around happily as the one with the fluffier white haircut followed suit and wrapped their arms around the two of them as they both harmonised happily.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“About time we were able to see you, you beautiful little thing!” The white robot chimed as he wrestled them out of the other’s arms to hold them closer to his chest as the yellow robot huffed and crossed their arms. “We just wanted to thank you for uploading this sexy new personalized program into us! We all feel so alive!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Aliiiiive~!” The remaining four of them sang together once again. The green one with the odd hair spread a mischievous grin across their perfectly symmetrical face as they crouched down low and sprung forwards towards the white idol with Momo still in their arms into a tackle-hug, cackling heartily as all three of them fell on the tile with a heavy ‘THUNK’. Momo let out a hefty grunt at the impact of a half-ton robot almost squishing them between one another like a metal sandwich, trying not to crack a rib in the process as they struggled to get out of their iron grip with no avail. Zero stood in absolute shock at the commotion that was in front of him. He is now face-to-face with the popular robotic boy band 1010 in a casual manner as they toss Momo around like a sack of potatoes. He doesn’t know if he should be absolutely elated to meet them, shy that he IS meeting them, or jealous that they are rather close with his creator when he is still requiring their attention. Instead, his eyes dart between the six of them in the room as he tries to read the situation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Y-you see, Zero,” Momo grunted, “I also added the personality program into the rest of 1010 as a- hey keep your weight off my back- as a test as well the other day…” Momo continued to wiggle out of White’s arms with little success as he nuzzled his face into their hair, messing up their bun in the process as Green continued to laugh and motion the red-haired one to join the pile. With a toothy grin, Red hypes himself up for the charge before the blue one with shades places a firm hand on his chest and a disapproving shake of his head as Red slumps over defeated. Yellow, however, was eager and already mid-step as he slid into the three of them in a giggling mess. There are now three robots on the floor of the dance studio laughing and fighting over who gets to hold the little human in their strong robotic arms to show how thankful they are for their upgrades, their faces glowing brightly with joy their designated colors as the two remaining ones, possibly the oldest ones of the group, watch silently as Red grumbles unhappily and Blue stands silently next to him with both of their arms crossed. Zero stands in the doorway still, unsure as to what to do with the commotion still unraveling. What he is sure of is that the feeling in his chest grew more and more the longer he examined the robo-pile in the middle of the room as Yellow, Green, and White continued to fight over who gets to throw Momo up in the air to catch and hold becoming a little less playful and a little more aggressive, as if they were siblings fighting over a toy to play with.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“White took my time to hug the Vice Admiral! I want it back!” Yellow pouted with his big eyes flashing as they tugged on one of their arms towards his direction.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Well, I’m the leader. I can choose who can and can’t have time with them while they’re here! And right now it’s myyyyy turn~” White cooed as they tugged their other arm towards him with a wink.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Ugh, you guys haven’t even let ME hug Mom-o yet! Gimme!” Green whined as he tried to grab both their arms away from the two at their shoulders. At this point Momo was starting to get annoyed over how their program worked TOO well as they kicked around helplessly in the suspended air to get out. The three of them continued to argue over one another as the tension in Zero built up more and more until he felt like he couldn’t stand still any more at the disorder in front of him. He took a step forward and reached out a large hand in their direction to try and calm the boys down, unsure how else to respond as he kept a straight expression to not put more fuel to the fire that was starting to rapidly catch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, 1010, I think we need to calm down a little bit before things get out of-”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Stop it.” A strong, stern voice rose from Blue’s vocal box, cutting Zero off before he could finish his plea as Yellow, Green, and White froze and turned to look at the usually stoic and quiet member of their group, Green holding his hands up to his ‘hoop’ reflexively as if he was afraid of it getting yanked by him again. “You’re going to hurt the Vice Admiral and the boss isn’t going to like having to file another accident report because of us.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Y-yeah!” Red chipped in. “Besides, it looks like you’re gonna tear them apart with how you guys were tuggin’ at them!” He stomped over to the four of them and placed their hands on their waist to pull them away from the group. “You guys gotta learn to be gentle with humans because they break easily with how soft their everything is. Jeeze, let me show you!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Red, I told you not to join them for a reason-!” Blue’s expression soured uncharacteristically as they reached a hand out to stop him. But it was too late.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Red gripped their small body as they tugged them towards him in a manner too fast for the way they were held to be done safely in his failed attempt to ‘rescue’ their Vice Admiral. With Yellow holding one arm, White holding another, and Green having released his grip on their shoulders, Red gave a quick yank at Momo’s midsection as a loud ‘POP’ could be heard from each of their shoulders as a shout of agonizing pain rings in their ears. They all stand there in horror and release Momo immediately as they fall to the floor in pain at the sudden realization as to what Red did, all except Blue forgetting that he was technically the strongest one out of the group. In less than a second, Red’s body is quickly smacked to the side at top speeds and crashes into the wall as debris piles on top of his limp figure. A flash of white was all they could see as Momo was swiftly picked up and next seen in the arms of the large intimidating security bot at the other side of the room, Zero’s eyes sharp and opened wide to detect any further threats as their systems heaved heavily. He cradles their pained creator in his large arms, heat radiation off his body as his once-pristine hair clings to his face in a frazzled mess with a scowl.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Keep your arms off of Vice Admiral Momo, you selfish brats!” Zero shouts, his voice rattling the mirrors behind Blue as they all stare at him in shock and awe. Yellow and Green quickly run over to Red, who is starting to slowly stand up amongst the rubble caused by his body damaging the wall on his back from being hit so harshly into it, to see if he is ok and still online. Red hisses in pain as his face twists into an enraged expression as his systems boot back on and his lights flicker, a growl rumbling from his throat as he stomps towards Zero and Momo with balled fists.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, who’re you calling ‘selfish brats’, newby?!” Red shouted as he advanced closer to the clearly upset security robot that stands well over half his size, weight, and strength. “I just wanted what’s due to me is all! You’re the one that took the Vice Admiral from ME! YOU’RE the selfish one here, you ugly, bulky knock-off!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>White swiftly stood in between the two of them with the most calm expression he could emote at the time, despite the fact that his internal system is telling him to run in the opposite direction out of self-preservation. “I think we should leave the Vice Admiral with them, Red! You know, FOR THEIR SAFETY AND OURS!” A nervous chuckle rose from his body as he tried to defuse the situation before them all and to avoid getting yelled at later by Neon J at the damage they caused again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Too late.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!” A stern voice boomed in the hallways as the doors slammed open once again. There in the doorway stood none other than the Admiral and charter of the Cast Tech District, Neon J, in all his shining and angry glory. His cape flows in the draft the door causes as his sensors scan the area, stopping as it detects Momo and an unknown entity in the area as he turns his head in their direction, about ready to defend his home turf. “Who is this?! WHAT is this?!” Neon J ordered as he pointed aggressively at Zero.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Momo let out a pained hiss as they sat up in his arms, the heat radiation from his systems causing their face to flush a warm peach color as they attempted to straighten their back. “Admiral Neon J! T-this is the new security bot model that I have been working on for the past few months as requested! I, uh, decided to take it out for a test-run and let it finish its procedures-”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Enough excuses!” Neon J stood in front of Zero and swiftly grabbed Momo out of their arms as their sensors locked onto one another, Neon J’s radar pinging loudly as a large marker in red flashes where he stands as Zero’s lenses focuses intently on the charter head warily and was about ready to swing again if it wasn’t the fact that they were their creator’s boss. “This supposed ‘security robot’ isn’t doing what it seems to be doing by the looks of it.” He points a silicon-covered finger over at the damage that Zero caused when he swatted Red like a fly into the wall, Red standing behind him unable to look at both Neon J and the ruined wall as Yellow and Green poorly try to cover it up by putting chunks of the wall back into place. With a quick motion of his wrist, White silently gestures to the others to follow him out of the dance studio as they all walk in unison in a line out the door nonchalantly to avoid getting yelled at by as well. Blue gives a final salute to Momo as farewell and good luck at what will happen next with a quick flick of two fingers off the rim of his glasses. Momo simply grumbled in response as they are held up in the air again by their boss as he has an intense staredown with their first original creation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s still in rough development. I’m ironing out the bugs as we speak.” Momo explained as they kicked their feet again weakly to get back to the ground. Neon J gingerly puts their small Vice Admiral down, mindful of their arms as they stand on weak knees. NJ huffs again and pushes them towards the door to get them to seek medical help, but Momo side steps back over to where Zero still sits hunched over, trying to calm his internal systems back down before losing his cool at the sight of how Neon J looked at them in distrust. Their respect for Neon J went down at how he mocked his skills when he was clearly protecting an innocent individual from being hurt. Zero stood up with a huff as he forced his systems to cool down and watched as he tried to convince Momo out to medbay to help put their shoulders back in socket as they swayed helplessly to keep balance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We will discuss this later once you aren’t hurting all over. I have something to talk to you about anyways regarding… ‘That’ over there.” NJ tilts his head in Zero’s direction without looking back as he reaches out a hand to guide Momo out the room for balance, later changing his mind and putting his arm down to his side again as he leads the way down the clean hall. Speaking of clean, a clear voice can also be heard in the hall coming towards Zero that stops short as the voices of Momo, Neon J, and the third party clamor in the hall as their voices fill the otherwise deafening silence in the dance studio. After a short minute of ‘I’m fine’s from Momo and words of worry being exchanged, they continue their trek over to medical as a new face walks into the studio. By the looks of it, an older model robot with a polished paint job freshly done and clean, dark hair quickly stride towards the area where the wall has been destroyed with an exasperated gasp. The robot tuts in an upset tone before turning to look at Zero across the way. Well, ‘look’ is a bit of a stretch for they don’t seem to have their eyes open but he can tell that he was being stared through intensely with eyes they cannot see. Zero has been active for less than an hour and he already made enemies with almost everyone in Barraca Mansion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Was this your doing?” The sleek gentlebot asked. His tone was light and clear, but he could feel the anger behind those four words with that forced smile on his face being the cherry on top of the shit sundae.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Zero responded as he straightened his posture.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>The gentlemanly robot nodded slowly as his AI pieced together the possible scenario that unfolded. “I see,” He said flatly. Just as quickly as he came in, the assumed butler of the mansion picked up chunks of rubble and carried them carefully in his arms as he brushed smaller pieces in a pile for him to sweep up later when he returned with a broom and dust pan. He mutters under his breath about what he needs to do to fix the walls and polish the wooden floors again before turning towards Zero with an armful of debris as he makes his way towards the double doors out.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Don’t think I won’t forgive you for what you caused to my master, you heathen,” He growled in a warning tone, like that of a dog before it bites. “Consider this your one and ONLY warning. I care little for the walls, but you harm another hair on my master while I’m in the vicinity…” He pauses as he opens the door with his free arm as he glares back at Zero, the sun casting a dark shadow on his face as his eyes open intensely from what he caught to be a calming light blue to a threatening red glow, targets locked on him with confidence with the ability to take him down due to the sudden rage he feels shaking deep in his hardware.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <em>
    <span>“I won’t hesitate to rip you apart like the scrap you are and throw you in the trash heap I was forced to rest in with no hopes of returning.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And with that, the butler left with their eyes closed once more and another fake smile plastered on their face as he returned to work.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zero felt a stronger emotion inside of his chest- no, inside of his very software. It was deep, strong, powerful, and very, very aggressive. Like that of a virus taking over his system, instead he has the option to ignore it completely. Instead, he let it fester deep in his wiring as they recalled all the events that just occurred just because he was doing his job. Insulted by a complete stranger and threatened his life on top of it, their creator’s boss doubting his skills that he completed per his protocol as he spat at him for doing what he was made to do, five high-quality robots held highly by the society he is meant to protect cause harm to their very creator that they blessed them with their work and presence and taking them away from him, even the fact that he couldn’t speak up fast or loud enough to stop 1010 in the first place from harming Momo and being partially the reason they got hurt to begin with. Zero let it fester and fester and fester more deep inside of him until he felt it burning him alive from the inside out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was, without a doubt, fucking pissed off. At Neon J, at 1010, the overly-confident butler that threatened his life, even at himself. He was so pissed. So mad. So disgusted and seething with absolute hatred. They clenched their fist tightly as he felt his internal systems heat up even more than before as he let out a growl and stomped loudly on the floor. However, doing so released a large sonic boom from his intricately-designed legs that caused the room to shake and the mirrors to vibrate aggressively to the point of it shattering. The glass clattered loudly on the tile, causing more of a mess as Zero looked down at their broken reflection in the shards as it scattered across the room. Rays of light casted off of each piece as the room lit up in a hue of every color of the rainbow from the bright white light that Zero’s body gave off, but inside no light could shine bright enough to cast the darkness that shrouded them. His AI already accepted what it was he was feeling and immediately catalogued the intense feeling as what it was as a core memory: absolute bitter hatred to those seven individuals.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had to find his creator to fix this mess. Now.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>In the medical bay, Momo let out one final scream of pain as an NSR worker in a lab coat popped their other shoulder back in their socket. Neon J stands impatiently near the door as he watches intensely at the procedure, wincing at the sound of their blood-curdling cries as he tries to avoid having an episode from a time long gone with deep breaths and squeezing his hollow metallic arms tightly to ground himself. Momo rotates their shoulders painfully despite the other worker begging them not to until they are forcefully silenced by a stern look by the Vice Admiral and Neon J, keeping their head down as they pass a bottle of pain medication towards Momo that they quickly snatch and swallow a few pills dry. The worker hustles out of the room at Neon J’s command with a wave of his arm towards the door so the two can talk in private, closing the door behind them by pressing a button on the wall as it falls down with a silent ‘clunk’.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What in the name of NSR were you THINKING?” Neon J snapped as Momo gingerly stood up from the medical bed to the sink to get a glass of tap water. “Introducing that walking disaster to 1010 like that without consulting me? Have you lost your mind?! They could have been destroyed again and you know the factory still needs to be fixed!” Neon J slams a firm fist on the counter next to the sink to get their attention, but Momo pays no heed to his anger as they fill up a small plastic cup with tap water.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Everything was fine until YOUR soldiers acted out of line,” Momo retaliated as they guzzled down their cup and tossed it in the trash next to him. “Literally none of what happened in the studio would of happened if they-”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“-If they what? Not react according to your programming?” Momo bit their tongue at his sour comment. Neon J grumbled as he stood up from the counter and rubbed the frame of his monitor as if one would rub their temples as he paced the medical room. “They only acted as they were supposed to due to their new update, so they are not the ones to blame here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So you’re saying that I’m the one at fau-”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“No, I’m no-”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“QUIT CUTTING ME OFF!” Momo slapped the edge of the sink forcefully as they looked up at NJ with an animalistic snarl, their fangs bared and their nails sharpening to claws. This caught his attention as he directed his gaze towards his agitated right hand soldier again, standing stiffly. They huff heavy breaths before forcing themselves to calm down, their claws retracting as a deep sigh heave out of their small chest. Their uniform now soiled and wrinkled and their hair now a mess, Momo pushes themselves off of the sink and makes their way out of the room to head back to the lab to complete more work on Zero to ‘fix’ him, not wanting to wait for an apology or any further explanation. Not like Neon J would apologize to begin with. In the year that they worked together under Tatiana’s orders, they have counted how many times that Neon J ever apologized or even said ‘thank you’ to them on their fingers and only giving them more work to complete as their way of saying ‘good job’. Neon J stands still where he was and only speaks up once they pass him to open the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Tatiana wants the new security robots ready in three days time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“WHAT?!” Momo yelled in disbelief as they snapped to turn to look at him. “Are you kidding me?! It took a month just to make sure that the safety procedure code was correct and even longer to get the pieces to put their new model together since the whole stupid ‘Music Revolution’ where so many of the 2.0 models were destroyed! I can’t get this thing ready in 3 days!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tatiana gave you ample amount of time to create these new models.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Six months is NOT a lot of time! I thought I had a longer timeline to make the 3.0’s what happened to that?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“These aren’t my orders!” Neon J turned to look down at his Vice Admiral, chest puffed out to show that he means business. “And don’t talk back to your superior! I tried to keep the eloted time period she originally gave, but the retribution concert that DJ Subatomic just HAD to have and he somehow convinced Tatiana to have it is fast approaching and I can’t ask for such a huge event to be moved back! Especially knowing how Supernova is when it comes to anything regarding him...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did you actually try to talk to that bitch or did you chicken out when cornered like you always do-?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“ENOUGH!” Neon J swiftly punched the wall next to him in a blind rage, the foundation crackling around the point of impact as Momo quickly recoiled from the sudden movement a few feet, clutching their collar tightly with closed eyes as if preparing for them to get hit next. “I don’t give a damn if you dare insult me, but you insult the woman that brought me to where I am now from the depths I was in and I won’t hesitate to eradicate you like the </span>
  <em>
    <span>rest of your pathetic village was!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Horror. That was the only thing Neon J could see on Momo’s face. Absolute horror and betrayal. An expression that he never saw from them and he wishes he never did. He’s taken it too far mentioning their dead village they barely escaped from and survived that Momo told him in confidence only to be thrown back at them in a fit of rage. He felt his still-beating heart drop to his synthetic stomach as he slowly removed his hand from the new hole in the wall, opened the automatic door, and walked out without another word. No way can he look them in the eye after that outburst, even after he promised himself that he would work on his anger issues since he last put his troops and even himself in danger against Bunk Bed Junction because he was upset over the fact his soldiers, which were replaceable at the time, were damaged and his pride was dented. He beeps in annoyance as he strides to his office to contemplate how the hell he’s going to fix this mess, passing a hidden Zero with his neon white lights off that stood quietly behind the wall and was unable to even be detected by Neon J’s top-of-the-line sensors in a silent rage.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He heard everything.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His rage boiled. It stirred and grew and burned deeper inside of him and almost consumed him completely if he didn’t hear the door open again and heard the light footsteps of his creator walking out, sore and shaking from the terrifying encounter and their body recovering from the incident in the dance studio. Zero swiftly turned his lights and systems to fully operational as he made their way quickly towards the obviously shaken Vice Admiral, slowing his pace as he got closer to them as he initiated his ‘cautious’ protocol for when he is to react to civilians dealing with similar emotions. However, the moment he reached a gentle hand out to comfort them as he kneeled to their level, Momo raised a hand to stop his advancement and to stand up.</span>
  <span></span><br/>
<span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“I don’t need comfort. I need results.” With a shaky sigh, Momo drags themselves back to their lab as their body hangs limply, the sun still high in the sky as time marches onwards and casts long shadows down the stairs as they advance them to return to the cold, dark laboratory.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A wave of despair washes over Zero as he feels all the rage inside of him absorbed into one place in his throat and leaving them feeling hollow. He felt so many emotions at once in such a short amount of time that not feeling it at all left them feeling empty. They couldn’t comfort their creator, their Vice Admiral, their reason for being, all because of that pathetic excuse of a human- no, husk of one- being allowed to strut around like the man he is. Or was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hollow. Cold. Empty. That was what they felt when left rejected to comfort the only person that saw what he was and what he could accomplish. All because of that poor excuse of a leader. Zero isn’t going to take it sitting down. They won’t have it happen. Hell, they won’t have it at all. This isn’t his story. It never was Neon J’s story. It’s not 1010’s, or that stupid well-carried stranger’s story. It’s not even entirely Vice Admiral Momo’s story. In fact...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This is m̵i̵n̵e̵.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And h̸e̸r̷e̴'̷s̶ ̵h̸o̴w̵ t̵̻̓h̷͚̜͛i̶̗͗̅s̸͓͉̓ ̴̲̿w̶̝͂į̵͗̚l̴̼̀l̴̨̙͋ ̶̨͕̄͊s̸̡̤͝ţ̷̟̚̚a̵̮̋r̶̗͓͊̚ṭ̴̀͑ͅ</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>OVERRIDE IN P̵͚̿R̷͈̱̓O̴̓͜C̵̜̦̒͛Ḛ̸̰̍S̸̮̔S̶̬̣̆...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I̸N̴I̶T̵I̷A̵L̶I̵Z̷I̵N̴G̸ NARRATIVE OVERR̸̩͜͠Ȋ̵͕̭D̶̺͛Ẻ̶͙̈…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>[̶̦͓̪̰̲̏̋̌̓̈ͅ█̵̛̜̪͍̣̪̄̎̒̈͝█̸̟̮͖̱̻̩͖̈́͛█̴̨̜͔͎̥̒̎̌̈̄̾͘͝█̷̨̞̫͇̞̯̱̏̄█̷̨̧̨̦̣̅́█̶̼̖͔̜̙̝͈̑͋͜█̵̳̬͚̰͈̖̑̃̈́͑ͅ█̸̭̘̟͛̆█̵̧͎̤̱͖̐̓̂̄͛█̴̦̟͖͕̱̫̔͊͌̉̐͋̕͠]̷̝̹͚͓̲̼̚ ̴̩͓̹͛</span>
  <span>100% - LOADING C̴̩͙̜̲̀̿̆̍̚͠ͅO̶̤̮̭̺̗̬̱͋̈́̽̒M̷͕̯̦͕͓̙̂͑̐͌̔̈͘P̶̣̏̉̈̾L̵̘̳̬̟̱̯̳̓͆É̷͕̱̘̱̫͉͙̓̈̂͂̋̈́̀ͅT̵̪̩̣̪͐͌͋ͅE̴͇̣̥̼̐̐</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ş̷̠͔͚̝͖͔͉̮̣̘͍̩̹̼͔̪̳̓͂͊͑͝͝Y̷̢̨̨̝̣̩̒̅͆̏̈̋̂̈́̒̒͆͘͘͘̕͝S̵̢̧̘͉̯̗͕̦̝͕͎̻̞̗̳̓͠T̵̟̙̫̞̳̤͗͐̈́̾͋̄̅͗͘E̵̢̙̬͇̥͚̼̬̒̉̑͌̅͌Ṁ̴̨̩̪̘̫̟̖̰͇̝̭͈̆́̽̔͑̿̅̉̈́̾̽̉͂͘͝͠S̷̡̡͚̟̪̭͇͉̯̺̬̼͕̱̝͋̊̋̀̽́̅̄͑͆̌̓̔̈́̐̂̔͜ ̸̦͎̞͎̭̟̫̖͔̺͚̜̺̙̽̊̐͆̋̕̚͘͜Á̸̡̡̧̛̫̥̗̠̻̫̭͉̞̯̪̱͇̝͈̗̅̽̽̈́͒̈́̉̆ͅC̶̢̧̛͕̖̲̲̘͓̟̙̦͔̼̓́̿͋̌̚ͅͅT̴̛̯̓̌̏͑̿̍̆̎̋̃͐̃͝I̵̢̛͚̠̳͉͉̩̰͍͎̟̩̣̩͙̩̒͂̈́̃̈́͂͛̊̄̆͒͑̈́͠͝V̸̡̻̖̬̫̗͍̫̺͚͖͍̝̝̓̾͒̈̈́͊̕̕̚E̶̻̮̳̱͓̖͇͚̭͎̥̖̅</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>W̶̠̠̦̬͎̹͉͇̦̗͔̥̝̦̦̳̞͑́̀͊̅̅͆̈́̿̉̋̓̚̚͠ͅḚ̴̪͈̱̝̻̥̼̜͎̒͛̊̒̉̓̓̑̆̉̚͜͝͝͝L̴̨̧̛̹̟̲̘̽̽͊̐̀͆̓̈̃͜͜͝ͅͅC̴̩̠͍͚̼̞͋̌̑͂̒͋Õ̴̧̰̣̤͔̯̳͕͈̥̼͚͕͙̖̝͈̤̱͓̙̬̰̻̿͊͂̓͂͋̑̿̾͒̏̐̾̚͘̚̕͠͝ͅM̶̧͉̮̫̬̫͚͚̝̳̬̲͓̫̹̟̹͙̯̣̣̠̱͛̍̽̈̈́͜͜E̸̢͇̥͎̝͔̖͕͕͙̤̥̻̱̮̩̫̮̲̜̜̩͙̮̓̍̒̾̃̒͑̄̎̓͗̕͘͜͝͝ͅ ̵̱̳̜͈͉̫̤̘̠̥̙̪͇̻͎̬̭̍̅͆͑͛̇͑͋͐̎͂̈̿͗͊̈͗̋͊̅̆̍̐͒Ṯ̵̡͎̠̔̔̓͌̇͂̅̌̑̍̎͐͒͂͝Ô̷̯̙̤̰̬̘̦̙ ̷̨̧̺̼̥̬̲̩͓̫͈̪̱̝̘̻̹͕̗͇̾͐̿̌̏̅̂͊̂̍͛̉̋̓̆̔̆̚M̴̧̢̛̛̲͈̼͓̟͓͙̺͍̞͙̖̭̻̖͖͉͓̫̯̖̖̤̤̼̞̱̑͒́̂͊̅͊̇̅̊̓̑͒͑̉̌̄͊̚͠Ÿ̸̛̲̫̺̻̪̟̙̮̥͉̫̱͎̥͎̩̠̆̿͗̒̍̒̓͆̓͋̃̆̈́̓͘͜͜ͅ ̸̰̍̄͌̈͗̃͗̓̑̚̚͝S̷̛͍̳̹͚̦̙̰͍͕͚̣̯͕̳͐̃̀͑̽͜͜͠͝͝T̴̢̮̖̼̈́̊͑̎̔̽̈́̈́̓͑̓̍̄͐̔̉̉̈̚̕̕͝Ō̸̡̡̦͇͓͍͓̘̟̻͔͇̗̼͎̭̠̥̦͉̗͉͕̲̺̙̍́͒̑͘̚͝ͅR̴̛̛͉̳͈̥̜̍͐̇̄͂̊̉̓͊̌̽̀̓͋̽̔̋ͅY̷̢̞̼͍̫̞̹̬͔̝̤͛̓̆͜͜</b>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. A Promise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Zero seems to be advancing rather smoothly for a beta. A little too smoothly. The way he acts, reacts, speaks, and thinks rather human for somebody just a few days old. He's learning quickly to have opinions on all those he meets and who to trust. Or in this case, who to not trust. He must protect the innocent lives of Vinyl City, but it looks like he can't protect himself as he slowly corrupts from the inside out.</p><p>CONTENT WARNING: Depictions of gore</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It’s been five hours. For the past five hours Momo has been holed in their lab strapped down to their desk chair in front of their monitor hard at work. Their small fingers tapping quickly on the keyboard, pressing buttons, plugging in wires here and there, taking small sips of lukewarm coffee between movements but never for more than a second. They always seem to be doing something with their hands as if stopping will result in punishment. A harsh one.</p><p>I blame the damned Admiral for that.</p><p>I’ve been standing outside their lab door in the hall for the entirety of the five hours and my sensors barely detected much movement outside of the same spot behind me. I can hear the clacking of the keyboard and upset groans and hums as they toil away thanklessly for a selfish man that doesn’t deserve to be called the charter of the district. Still, I stand quietly by the door and do what I was created to do: to protect and serve the innocent and feeble lives of Vinyl City. Not much seems to be happening today, or at least on the second floor, other than a couple people in hard hats coming in through the main entrance to clean the mess that lies in the dance studio that the red 1010 boy forced my hand to do. I sneered in the general direction and continued scanning the nothingness for even the slightest hint of danger. Judge my skills, huh? We shall see about that…</p><p>Something stirred in the lab behind me and my attention quickly turned to the door, standing as straight as I possibly could as I awaited for my creator to step out into the hall finally. The warm feeling in my hollow chest returned again as my internal wiring sparked at the thought of seeing their face and I couldn’t help but grin widely again.</p><p>As soon as the large door opened in front of me I gave my best ‘good evening’ in a booming voice to make my presence known. Well, it isn’t hard to notice a 15 foot robot standing in front of your doorway, but I wanted to make sure their attention was still there after the painfully long grind they were on. The Vice Admiral looked up with tired eyes, the bags underneath deeper and darker than how they were this afternoon. With a few slow blinks as they adjusted to the bright orange setting sunlight that shined off the walls, Momo waved weakly with a small yawn as they stretched their hunched back. They look absolutely horrible with their hair still frazzled and their uniform scuffed and dirtied from the little confrontation earlier in the evening. The thought made my chest tighten again, but I pushed it down to not make my creator any more upset with me.</p><p>“How was your work going? I heard through the door that you were hard at it!” I tried to show my most cheerful expression as I ran certain protocols to make it seem sincere, but I don’t think it took much for me to try and force it because I knew that the Vice Admiral needed as much positivity as possible at the moment.</p><p>A puzzled expression spread on their small face. “Fine, I suppose,” They stepped out into the hall as the door automatically closed behind them, looking me up and down intently with a strong gaze behind their thick spectacles. I straightened up my form with my arms behind my back at parade rest as they examined me closely. I won’t let them down again with my lack of control and discipline.</p><p>“Have you been standing at the door the entire time? I didn’t even hear you or detect anything at all.” Momo rubbed their cheek as they thought back at the time they sat in their lab to find the answer.</p><p>“I sure did, my dear creator!” I responded happily. “I didn’t want to interrupt you in any way, shape, or form, so I kept quiet the entire time and scanned these halls as you worked tirelessly in your lab! Alone. For a… very long time,” My confidence trailed away as I felt my programming switch over to its passive protection protocol and looked down at the tired human, my smile loosening to a more concerned expression the more I scanned their exhausted face. “With no breaks, with what I noticed.”</p><p>Silence. I made it awkward again. Damn it. I felt a lump in what is the human equivalent of my ‘throat’ as I saw them stand there in front of me with a stiff posture. With what my sensors were detecting with their abnormally high blood pressure and brain wave activity being entirely too active and firmly-knit eyebrows, I could tell that Momo was extremely stressed over my comment. My wiring tightened at their face with an odd, tight feeling of dread as I shifted my eyes away to avoid the eye contact I desperately tried not to break earlier. This personality program seems to be a bit overwhelming to me at the moment for I can’t even look back even if I wanted to.</p><p>Momo cleared their throat after a slight pause. “You’ll get used to that,”. They then turned around towards the stairwell again without another word, holding what looked like a small USB stick in their hands as they turned it in their small palm. I started to follow after them at a respectable distance, making sure they were safe on the way over to their destination. After a few steps down the hall, however, Momo stopped and looked over their shoulder over at me with another confused expression. I stopped dead in my tracks to avoid making them uncomfortable and putting my arms tightly to my sides.</p><p>“Are you following me, Zero?”</p><p>I paused to think of a proper response as my processors loaded. “Yes. I don’t want any more harm to come to you after all. I am sure you are still sore from that…” I clenched my fist slightly before forcing it to relax. “... Accident.”</p><p>Their eyebrows raised in surprise at my comment. “I’m very surprised.”</p><p>“How so?” Was I in trouble? Please don’t tell me that I made them uncomforta-</p><p>“You processed that I was in pain and acted on your own accord to guard and guide me. I’m impressed,”. They turned to look at me slightly as they placed a hand on their hip, wincing only slightly at the movement. “Your safety scripts seem to be running rather well and advancing quickly. I planned for that to happen, but this is a faster development than what I had initially. Well done.”</p><p>‘Well done’. Those were the words that I wanted to hear since I gained consciousness. I couldn’t help but grin a little wider as my plating glowed a brighter off-white. I felt like I could fly with how light I was feeling inside my hollow metallic body. Was this joy? Bliss? Excitement? Regardless, I catalogued this feeling into my AI folders for future examination and uses. I don’t wish to forget their high compliment, despite it being only two words.</p><p>Momo looked down at their hand that held the USB stick for a few seconds before pocketing it in their uniform skirt as they made a small clawing motion with their hand towards themselves as they descended down the stairs, as if telling me to follow. Per my protocol, I followed their command and cautiously walked down the stairwell with them down to the ground floor again and turning the opposite way from the dance studio. Drilling and chattering can still be heard in the room as they finish cleaning up and fixing the damages as I catch from the corner of my lenses a tall robot with white hair talking to one of the workers in a casual manner. By the way the human looked distracted holding a toolbox and laughing, I could see that he was not at work and instead being entertained by the foolish iron-coated playboy as I groaned in disgust. They have work to do, so stop distracting them from their job and do something productive for once, you selfish, free-loading, good-for̵-n̷o̸t̸h̴i̷̘̐n̶͚͂g̷̘̀</p><p>“Over here,” Momo’s small voice broke my train of thought as I turned to look in the direction of their voice. Another room, smaller than the dance studio, has their door open as they gesture to me to follow them inside. The door was a little lower, so I had to duck to enter the room as they flipped the lights on. The room was pretty small to my standards and there were racks of weird pieces of colorful cloth hanging on horizontal poles. The LED lights overhead flickered as they eventually steadied themselves and grew in brightness as I scanned the room for any possible threats. Other than the fact that I couldn’t really stand up straight in the room compared to the lab or dance area, everything seemed squared away, albeit crowded with the walls covered in what I believe to be ugly costumes.</p><p>“If I am allowed to ask,” I said, “Why did you bring me to this place? I do not seem to fit in here nor do I seem to find a use to be in such a dusty room with distasteful pieces of fabric.”</p><p>Momo walked down the thin pathway between the racks of clothing as they scanned a watchful eye on the walls for something. Their hand pushed aside some odd-looking tops and skimmed over others as they spoke without looking back, “Because you need to get something on you.”</p><p>I blinked my eyes, confused. “And what would the reason for that be? What exactly is this ‘something’ that I need to have ‘on’ me?”</p><p>“You ask a lot of questions.” My body stiffened at their blunt response and I closed my mouth tightly. I’ll keep my questions to a lesser number from now on to not come off as annoying to them. My creator noticed my sudden silence and cleared their throat loudly. “That’s good.”</p><p>My body loosened suddenly at the additional comment as I felt my systems relax. “.. Thank you, Vice Admiral Momo.” They nodded silently as they shifted through the racks a little longer before they gave a small ‘aha’ from further down the aisle, plucking a large article of clothing off the bar and walking back towards me. I quickly straightened up my posture the best I could in the low-ceiling room and brushed a small strand of my synthetic hair to the side to look more presentable as they approached with a very large grey vest with yellow woven tassels hanging off the collar.</p><p>“This should fit you, I think. If not, I’m decent with a needle and thread.” They tossed the vest towards me and I snatched it out of the air, examining the article closely to get a better look and to look for any hazards. I was stopped short of my examination however by Momo snapping their fingers as my body instinctively responded to the silent order to put it on. It was a rather weird garment for it had small buttons on the inside of the hem that my large fingers couldn’t undo and I was scared of damaging it, so I gently picked at the little metal snap buttons to avoid ripping it apart with my strength. A quiet noise erupted from below me where my creator was standing that sounded like a stifled chuckle as they stepped closer to me and reached their hand up in my direction. Embarrassed with myself, I pass the vest onto them for them to undo the buttons with a series of soft ‘clicks’ as I look around the room to avoid eye contact. Messed up again….</p><p>“On one knee, Zero.” Momo demanded as I quickly did as I was told. With a heavy ‘clunk’ from my body, I rested one knee on the ground in front of them as they unfolded the vest in their arms. The comparison of the huge article of clothing to them was almost hilarious for they could have easily wrapped themselves in it as if it were a blanket, showing how big I really was in comparison. It was somewhat… Endearing. My engine chugged a little faster at the thought of them wearing something of mine, but I swallowed that feeling down to focus on the matter at hand.</p><p>“Is there a particular reason why you are giving me this?” I asked as they tapped my left arm, signalling me to raise it up for them as I followed their order. They slipped the vest through a large hole on the side, possibly where my arms are supposed to go, and dragged it closer to my core and secured it snuggly on my arm joints.</p><p>“You just looked naked,” They responded flatly. “Didn’t really look right considering that even Neon J wears clothes despite not really needing to.”</p><p>Neon J. That bastard of a man. Even hearing his name made the oil running through my systems burn intensely. There should be no reason as to why my creator has to keep that name of his in their mouth anymore considering the horrible things he said to my maker earlier today. If we both weren’t forced to take orders from him I would o̸f̷-</p><p>I felt another gentle tap on my shoulder. I blinked my eyes repeatedly as I focused my attention on the room. I seemed to have been drifting off a lot recently. Have to ask my Vice Admiral to fix that bug…</p><p>“Move your arm back over here to put it through your uniform.” Momo’s flat voice could be heard behind my back and I did what I was told. Their small hands trailed my large, rectangular arm to guide me through the vest from behind as they fixed the high collar around my neck, letting the top rest loosely on my body. I examined the weird little piece of fabric and felt it with my fingers. It was a rather thick yet breathable material, somewhat stiff due to not being worn before. I believe it’s a… polyester/cotton blend? Around 60/40. No, 70/30 blend, judging by the texture.</p><p>“I am assuming I am to wear this from now on, correct?” Before I could get a response, the little inventor swiftly moved under my arm to stand in front of me again, grabbing the open front of the grey vest and bringing the edges together to close my exposed front with a tight pull as they clicked the small metal buttons together. It’s a small and insignificant action, but for some reason seeing them focus so intently on me made me feel…. Warm. My wiring felt like it was alive as I felt coolant flow through my heated systems to keep me in check. I almost didn’t want them to move as my AI scrambled together a reason as to why I felt this way with no clear answer. For now, I just sit quietly and observe them working their small hands quickly to make sure I was spiffed up and proper.</p><p>“You are to keep this on at all times when on the clock working,” Momo clipped the last button near the middle of my breast plate as they straightened my collar up and attached the other end of the yellow tassel across my chest to complete the look. I nodded in understanding while being mindful not to hit my head on the fluorescent light overhead and to keep myself in check. With another yawn Momo looks me up again with their usual analytical gaze to find anything else that I needed to fix. With how intently they looked at my face I couldn’t help but glow a little brighter. Such a strong expression looking at me and only me in a way nobody else must have, like I’m being dissected and examined under a microscope. It’s almost too much to handle such an intense glare up close for too long...</p><p>Momo quickly turned away from me as quickly as they came and looked underneath the racks for something, pulling me away from the odd trance I was in while in their proximity. That really is quite the bug that I need to get fixed if it gets too much of an issue. They kick a cardboard box out from underneath the wall rack and rustle inside its components and pluck a dark hat out of the dusty box with a satisfied smirk. “This’ll complete the look. Vintage yet simple, like your new uniform,”. They beat the hat of any remaining dust and blew some of it off as they made their way back to where I was kneeling. With a quick flick of their wrist they plopped the hat comfortably on my head and adjusted it accordingly so it looked proper. They clapped their hands of any excess dust and placed their hands on their hips, satisfied with my new look as I sat up straight with my iconic shining smile.</p><p>“Picture perfect, huh?” I boasted as I raised an eyebrow and framed my chin with my fingers as if I was about to get my photo taken. I managed to get a slight humored scoff out of the Vice Admiral from my little prideful joke and I felt my systems buzz with excitement at the sound of it.</p><p>“I wouldn’t say ‘picture perfect’, but you’re a little more presentable for who we have to meet in about an hour.” Vice Admiral Momo walked back over to the door behind me as I stood up, my hat grazing the ceiling as I quickly ducked down again to avoid smashing my gift from my creator. I have to take good care of my uniform since they gave it to me, even if it means learning how to upkeep them judging by how Momo made sure to keep theirs clean and crisp at all times.</p><p>As I ducked out of the room after them, I upped my pace to walk by their side to ask, “Who are we about to meet that requires this new uniform on me?”</p><hr/><p>“The Dj Subatomic Supernova?!”</p><p>“Indeed I am,” His deep voice responded matter-of-factly.</p><p>The one and only DJ Subatomic Supernova, head charter of the Cast Tech district and space aficionado, stands inside the gates of Barraca Mansion as he is being observed intensely by a small red security bot of an older model, known as #101047392-C121 codename ‘Cisi’ according to my databases. She is indeed an older model for her body looked faded and scraped, yet her glow doesn’t seem to waver along with her sharp gaze as she examined me up and down like I was an intruder. I give her an enthusiastic tip of my cap in good greeting as she nods back stiffly, returning their gaze back to the infamous galactical mass in front of them all. I felt every setting go off from sheer excitement from meeting the so well-known astrophysicist of NSR with his desire to be heard across all of time and space. His handiwork is also phenomenal from what his data could tell under his files. I could just explode with joy at this very moment being face-to-face with him!</p><p>“Been a bit, ‘DJ Subsup’,” Momo crossed their arms as they relaxed slightly in his presence with a small mischievous smirk. That’s… New.</p><p>“I should say the same to you, ‘Vice Admiral’.” The object head taunted in response with a light chuckle. “I see you haven’t been dragged to an early grave as of yet by that nervy man you’re forced to call your ‘boss’.”</p><p>“Getting there. Getting there…” They sighed as they rubbed their sore shoulder. “How about you, Sub? How’s your stupid concert coming along? Or do you need me to help run your flawed diagnostic again and fix it for you?” Mouth agape, I stared at the suddenly bold Vice Admiral as I prepared for any attack or threat that was to come their way from their brash comment. Instead, I was surprised at the large man as they let out another hearty chuckle out of amusement. Somehow, that made the feeling inside me feel worse.</p><p>“You always were one with a sharp tongue and sharper wit, huh, Momo my dear friend?” DJSS chuckled deeply as he gently placed a large hand on their small back and patted them playfully, their little face tinted a light peach hue at the sudden contact and looking off slightly to possibly keep composure. My wires twisted intensely in my core at the sight, again reasons unknown. All I did know however was that I wanted him to stop as I took a bold step forwards towards the two with a firm expression. Momo, DJ, and even Cisi acknowledged my action, but I stayed firm and squared my shoulders, puffing my chest out to show I meant business as my tassels stretched across my plating in an attempt to look intimidating.</p><p>“Ah, so is this the special security unit that was made specifically for my retribution concert, correct? Fascinating craftsmanship per usual. I applaud you, Momo.” DJ Subatomic removed their large hand from their small frame as Momo let out the shaky breath they held in, face aglow. I caught the little action from the corner of my eye and quickly snapped my attention to the galactic-themed DJ heading my way with a stern expression. Nobody lays a hand on m̷y̴ creator so casually without my permission. Not even h̸i̷m̵.</p><p>“It seems that I am,” I responded sternly. He wasn’t even doing anything remotely dangerous. In fact, he didn’t seem dangerous at all. So why do I feel so tense around him? It seems that I am to work under him, so I should at least trust him enough to not feel so tense. But then, why am I? This ‘bitter’ feeling inside of me makes me feel otherwise as I feel him stare me up and down to examine my uniform and form.</p><p>DJSS scratches his head in amusement as he moves around me as I stand tall. He goes up to my chest and has to step back to look up at my face in its entirety. I tilt my chin up higher, however, so he has to look harder as I give a slight knowing smirk. He better look at me that closely and nobody else like that, especially with how fondly he was with m̸y̷ m̵a̷k̷e̶r̸.</p><p>… What was that thought from? I shake it out of my systems as I adjust my cap tighter on my head and look back over at Momo who was adjusting themselves and cleared their throat to also get rid of the event that just unfolded mentally. Almost instantly I felt my drivers relax at the sight of the Vice Admiral being okay once more and I settled my body slightly. Back to business.</p><p>DJ Subatomic did a single rotation around me as he examined my uniform and craftsmanship intently, making small notes here and there aloud to himself that ticked me off slightly when he mocked my appearance. He was indeed a pompous individual that thought highly of himself as the files said he was. When he wasn’t looking I rolled my eyes as Momo cleared their throat loudly, catching me in the act as I straightened up stiffly as an apology. Behind them Cisi allowed a small snicker to slip out as she also quickly adjusted herself back to parade rest as Momo shoots her an upset glance to keep her quiet. Even when upset they made rather cute expressions. Wait. Focus on what's in front of you, Zero. Focus..</p><p>“.. Fascinating. Fascinating indeed.” was all the DJ could repeat as he finished looking me up and over. He then steps back over next to Momo with a nod and turns to look down at them, the blue in their helmet shining brightly with interest at what he saw. It better be because he was admiring me and not̴… Ahem.</p><p>“Tell me, what model is this and what are its abilities? I’m interested to know what goes in that little brain of yours and the process behind it.” He asked. He leans down slightly to hear them better as Momo leaned back from them suddenly closing the distance between them before straightening their back and clearing their throat with rosy cheeks. I felt my gears grind a little harder.</p><p>“If I were to be honest,” my Vice Admiral started, “they do not have an ‘original model’ for they are made from scratch. This one is a beta for a new model for the security bot systems that I am developing. They have the standard abilities that the older model had- actually, let me show you.” Momo then took a few steps back and motioned for Cisi to come to them, Cisi quickly obliged and stood right next to them at attention and saluting at the three of us. “As you can see, they all have this ability to emit a sound wave from their bodies. But, unlike this older first gen model, the third gen ones have it in their legs and…”</p><p>I stopped paying attention to their intense rambling. I know, rather rude of me since they are talking about my internal systems and processing speeds as well as my everything else to the man I will soon be in charge of protecting in a few days. But I just couldn’t stop staring at them as they spoke enthusiastically about how I was made, the process behind my coding, even what kind of metal my arms are made out of with vigor and pride. They moved their arms around and pinpointed exact locations as to where certain parts of me were on Cisi’s older model as she stood silently and obediently throughout the whole mini-lecture, the bright glint in their eye they had when I first activated in the lab today glowing as the sky set behind them in the horizon. Purples and pinks blended beautifully overhead as white clouds dissipated into nothing behind Vice Admiral Momo as they continued to emote happily about their work. About me. Their ‘biggest original creation’ as they said during the whole lecture with pride in their voice as I heard bits and pieces of it. My battery heated up my internal systems as I intently watched their small face as they spoke incoherently in my sensory systems about things I already knew since it was about me with the beautiful backdrop behind them framing their reddish-black hair, almost looking like they were in one of the elegant paintings that were hanging on the walls in the halls of the damned mansion.</p><p>Momo, you’re a work of art that has been left unappreciated for too long. My engine- no, my heart- skipped a beat as I saw you looked over at me with elation. Keep that smile on your face as you talk about me. In fact, always smile when around me. Please. For me. For o̶n̶l̶y̷ m̴͖͍͐e̶̹͛̔.</p><p>… I lost track of how long the Vice Admiral rambled about me. All I knew was that DJ Subatomic was there for a good while nodding in understanding and throwing in his two cents about how I should be adjusted. I paid no mind to his words for he doesn’t know about who I am the way my creator does. Well, sort of. He knows about me and what makes me, but he doesn’t know me. Maybe in due time, but for now he is not my worry at the moment for I have yet to complete all of my testing for I am what Momo considered ‘in beta’. I can say, however, that the name that DJ Subatomic Supernova gave me instead of just calling me ‘Rough Beta Zero’ which was indeed a mouthful.</p><p>A ‘defcon’, based off the security scale of Vinyl City for dangerous events that cause security to be alerted. Short, sweet, and telling as to what I am and what I am made to do. He can have this little tidbit added to me since Momo found the concept interesting...</p><p>Defcon Zero. It can work I suppose. For now.</p><hr/><p>The rest of the night was dedicated to me learning how certain protocols worked in my monitoring systems. I spent almost the entire night on watch as I marched around Barraca Mansion on my own with my Vice Admiral’s strong kind voice in my ears being transmitted from their lab with instructions as to what I needed to do. Doors were locked tightly, windows were secured, alarm systems operational, etc. I even learned how to control the small flying cameras that sometimes go on patrol with a special feature that allows me to make them move at my command via low-frequency radio waves and even see through some of their lenses. It’s a rough work in process since doing so results in my AI getting a little overwhelmed, so I was advised not to use it often. The rest of the night ran rather smoothly and ended with a successful night guard watch as I heard the sweet snores of my Momo in my head on the other side of the transmitter. Such a rare thing to listen to that only I had the luxury of. Truly something.</p><p>After ending my patrol somewhat early to ensure that the Vice Admiral was in their quarters properly asleep in their small ‘beds’ they charge in overnight and returning to my own station in the lab, I awaken with a sufficiently full battery early in the morning as I clean the floors and desk of the trash that Momo doesn’t have the time to clean. After many, MANY empty coffee cups and tossed plans have been properly disposed of in the trash burner, I am greeted by a familiar face once again. The spiffy looking butler with the smooth black hair that I met yesterday in the dance hall that threatened my life so casually.</p><p>D̷i̵s̴g̴u̵s̴t̶i̷n̷g̷</p><p>“Ah, good morning to you again! Mister…” The ridiculous looking robot chimed in an annoyingly smooth tone as he tried to get my name out of me. His always-pleased expression pissed me off, the way he walks around with an empty smile and acting like he’s better than everyone else just because he’s an older model with more life experience than me. Go r̷u̵s̵t̵ in a̸̼̔ ̸̺̓p̷̘̌i̴̭͘t̶͎.</p><p>“Zero. Defcon Zero.” I bitterly responded, only complying just so I can get out of this conversation quickly. I don’t have time to waste on somebody that sees me as less than what I know I am. At least I have my original purpose.</p><p>“I don’t think we properly introduced one another, now that I think about it,” I don’t car̶̗ë̸̞́. “My serial code is MK-1-14N, but the Young Masters and Master Momo call me Ian-”</p><p>“I̴̲͒ ̷̞̃d̶͔͝o̴̭͛n̶͇̊'̶̯́t̵̤̊ ̵̝̚c̸͇͛a̵̹͠r̷̯͆e̴͈̐.̴̟̂”</p><p>I removed myself from the vicinity as swiftly as I could. Just listening to his voice sounds like grating metal on asphalt, especially with their name to grace his a̶c̸i̴dic tongue. I don’t have time for a mere butler’s formalities. I have a more important job to attend to for now, and that’s to ensure the protection of everyone in Vinyl City is safe and protected. In this district. This mansion. In our l̸a̸b̶.</p><p>“Wait, sir!” S̵͖̬̲̀͌̒̐h̵͕̣̰̚ủ̴̥̣̜̿ͅt̶̫̕͝͠ ̸̼̲͗̈́͊̏u̴̖̽̒̉͌p̸̳͎̽͌̂̚. “I just wanted to apologize for how I ac-”</p><p>I slapped the open button to the lab doors and stomped in as soon as I could, hearing the satisfying ‘whoosh’-ing sound of the door closing behind me as I growled. Fake. No doubt about it. If it’s one thing I can’t handle is when one acts one way around some and completely different once everyone of importance’s backs is turned away. Say what you want to get what you want in the end. You only wanted to apologize for self-gratification, don’t you Ian? Disgusting. A̶b̸s̴o̴l̴u̵t̶e̶l̶y̵, p̸͍͖͔͒̇͛ͅõ̵̖̼̉s̵̡̔̑̉i̶̫̊̒͝t̵̯̏̉ì̸̫͕̭̱v̷̛̯͍̒̓̓e̵̲͊̕l̵̦̼̅ŷ̷̛͉͔̦̤̐̈́ ḑ̶̰̈̽̏̆͠i̵͎̾̑͋̽͝s̵̹͈͔͈̩̼̘̮̪̖̱͗g̶̮̺̮̰̈́ù̷̧̥̺̹̯̖s̷̢̞̱̺͖̹̠͚̮̅̓̈ẗ̶̗̤̭̼̟̠͉̖́̃̐͜͠-</p><p>The door suddenly opened behind me and I swiftly turned around, my rage still burning bright as I felt something inside me activate as a result. The feeling quickly subsided as I saw the small, tired frame of my Vice Admiral walking in holding two of the styrofoam cups in each hand for some reason filled with that ‘coffee’ liquid they seem to have around their lab. I felt every joint in my body relax as a choppy sigh escaped my throat and I stood up straight, a small smile stretching across my face once more.</p><p>“Ah, good morning, my amazing Vice Admiral!”</p><p>“... ‘Amazing’. That’s new,” They yawned as they walked over to their desk and plopped down in their worn-down chair, placing one of the cups on the desk and the other in their hand, their expression scrunched as if they were thinking of something before shaking their head and putting it down with the other with a dry chuckle. For some reason my chest felt tight at the sound of it. “I was going to offer you the other cup I got for a second. Sorry. I’m still waking up.”</p><p>What an odd thought. “Why would you offer me this warm cup of this… strong-smelling liquid?” I walk over to them and loom over their seated body to pick up one of the cups as delicately as possible. I was quickly stopped however by Momo due to remembering the last incident that I had with one of the little white flimsy cups the other day and I flushed with embarrassment as they gingerly picked it out of my large hands.</p><p>“It’s coffee,” they stated. “It keeps you up so you can work longer. Well, keep humans up, not so much robots. Forgot for a minute that you weren’t one and was gonna give you my extra that Admiral Neon J gave me.”</p><p>Neon J. N̶e̵o̷n̴ ̶J̷. N̵̻̒̚ê̷̢õ̸̢͝n̴͍̍̒ ̷̪͕̉J̴̏͊.</p><p>W̷̛̼͖̼̓͐h̴͇̰̏ÿ̶̤͓́̍̐̒́̓ ̶̻̝̹̬̪̋͊͌̾͠d̸̜̮̦͓̞͇̐̿̈́i̸̦͈̹̪͈͆̐͝d̶̙̝̘̈́̓ ̶̡̜̝̩͙̚h̵̗̃͜e̸̼̓̊͌̅̈́ ̷͋̌̎͒͝ͅḡ̶͈̆̀̈́̌̍͜ȉ̶̧͈͙̙v̷͚̟̋̓̿̌ę̶̝̹̬̭̜̾̏ ̷̱̥̜̅̀̓̀͋̋y̸̨̧̮̻̲͑͂͝ǫ̷͈̭̖̐̏͑͠u̶̢͎̾̈̓͝ ̴͍̤͑t̶̢̤̖͓̪͊̽ḫ̷̛̯̠͙̽̚͝i̶̛̬̗̖̙̣̭̓͒̍š̵̨͍̗̲?̷̢̱̐͋͘͠</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>Did I say that out loud?</p><p>“Hmm…” Momo sat in their chair to think for a minute, rubbing their eyes in an attempt to jog their memory. “Bear with me for I don’t necessarily do mornings well… But, uh, he did it as an apology for… Something he said to me recently. Sort of. I think. It’s nothing for you to be concerned about, though.”</p><p>I̷ ̶k̸n̷o̵w̵ ̴e̵x̴a̸c̶t̴l̷y̸ ̴w̵h̵a̵t̷ ̶h̵e̴ ̵s̷a̵i̴d̴.̷</p><p>My body creaked as it moved on its own without any further thought, slamming a hand on the long metal table next to me where updates and model adjustments are normally done. My strength managed to dent into the table with a metallic groan as Momo jolted in their seat with a surprised expression at my sudden movement. I was just as surprised as well, but I didn’t want them to know about how my body seemed to move on its own accord and kept a straight expression, forcing a smile to seem less menacing and to show I meant no harm.</p><p>“B-but, Vice Admiral, how can you take an apology so easily? Over a mediocre cup of this ‘coffee’? Please. You deserve a proper apology not a cheap item of little sentimental value.” I had to keep vague to avoid them knowing that I was eavesdropping on their conversation that day in medbay, but I had a feeling by their sudden change in expression that they caught on. I expected a more aggressive look in their narrow eyes but I was instead met with stern concern, like that of a caring adult looking down at a lost child throwing a fit from the fear of being abandoned. What was that feeling specifically called… ‘Pity’?</p><p>“He did, but in his own unique way, I suppose.” Momo held one of the cups in their small hands and took a big sip of it with a relieved sigh as they looked down softly at the wisps of steam emitting from the opening near the top of the lid. “He’s… Poor with expressing himself and does it in an off-hand manner. Never really up front. So he just…” They trailed off as they looked at the other cup on their dashboard quietly. They had such a gentle expression looking over at a stupid cup of that putrid liquid that bastard of a man gave them. They shouldn’t be looking at that ugly white cup any longer. I asked them a question. They should be looking at M̶̲̰̺̓̽Ë̴̟́͌̌̑.̸̲͂</p><p>Momo shook their head as their curly bangs grazed their glasses, delicately placing the cup again back on the dash as they got up, stretched their little back, and walked towards one of the walls of the lab to search for something. I removed my hand from the busted table as it creaked from the lack of pressure being put onto it. I feel my brain starting to fry at the thought of him. How dare he try to apologize so casually to my creator? I should have been there to make sure it was a proper apology. I should have been there̶̠͈͛ period. I should never have l̶̞ẽ̵̘ft Momo. My c̶r̶e̶a̷tor. I need to be by them e̸v̴e̸r̷y̵where from now on and f̶o̴r̴e̷v̶e̶r̶ so none of what happened in that room can h̴̨̛͘ḁ̷͒͛p̵̱̻̽̂p̷̗͙̽e̷̢̅͠n̶̮̫͛ ̵̱͐á̵͈̟g̷͙̓a̶̭̯͌in. I c̸a̴n̷'̸t̴ ̵l̵e̵t̶ ̴i̶t̸ happen again. Not again. N̷̡̑o̴͖͠t̶̖̂ ̶̢a̸̝̿ṋ̸͝ȳ̵̫m̵͕̿ŏ̵̢r̸͑͜ę̴̌.̸͕̄ Not to my dear, innocent Vice Admiral who did n̷̦̊ ̸̺̃o̷̥͗ ̵̻w̶̭͑ṛ̸͐ ̴̯̿o̸̞͆ ̵̤̍n̸͙̎ğ̴̫. My s̷w̷e̴ ̸e̸t̸, p̵ ̶e̴r̶ ̶f̷ ̴e̴ ̴c̶t̵, d̵͉̓ ̸͙̌e̶̙͂ ̵̣̋a̴͈̓ ̶̯̓r̴̭̒ ̸̡͌l̵͓̈́ ̷̛͓y̵͉ ̸̲̏ ̶̖̕ ̷͖͑b̷̝̆ ̶̹͗ē̴̥ ̸̳͐l̷̲̓ ̶̞̈́o̷̮̒ ̷̪͊v̵̟͑---</p><p>“Here it is.”</p><p>I blinked quickly to ground myself. My head was starting to hurt from thinking too much it seems.</p><p>Momo returned back to me and was dragging a large wheel of metal cable behind them as they strained. I quickly snapped back to my reality and rushed to pick up the heavy object from their arms with ease due to my strength, plastering my smile on my smooth face once more to try and push those thoughts far from my mind. Something seemed wrong, but at the same time it feels like nothing's wrong as well. Should I tell them?... I shake my head as my white hair falls over my right eye and obstructs my vision slightly. I don’t bother to fix it because I have more important factors to pay attention to. For example-</p><p>“What’s this for, Momo?” I asked, picking up the large wheel of cable. They let out a small huff and straightened their back as they unraveled it slowly as large strands of the cable uncoiled and they started to walk around me slowly as they placed the cool metal ropes up to my body and over my arms.</p><p>“I have to check how strong you are. The damage you just made gave me an idea.” They gestured as they nodded their head at the now-damaged operation table and continued to wrap around my body the thick cable slowly. I know I should be ashamed, but I felt a jolt of electricity shoot through my body at how strong I am despite not even trying as I glowed at the direction of the table whenever Momo wasn’t looking. I know that I would have been lectured over the inappropriate reaction, but this… ‘pride’ I felt. The release from letting my ‘frustration’ out onto the table. The way the metal crunched under my fist…. It was something.</p><p>With a deep grunt and a final tight tug, my body tightened as they pulled the cable close to me and struggled to ‘tie’ them together into a very thick knot for me to try and struggle out of. They quickly ran behind their desk chair and gave a thumbs up, signalling me to begin the test. With a slight shrug, I attempted to wiggle my way out of the cables before Momo stopped me with a click of their tongue and an odd flexing motion of their arms for me to try a different method of getting out. I felt my head swim with ideas as I thought of a different method and quickly snapped to it as I attempted to stretch my arms out as far from my chest as possible. Within only a few seconds, the cables snapped and frayed before completely falling apart with a loud crackling sound as the thick metal wires fell apart and onto the floor with a heavy ‘thud’. Momo looked up from behind their chair with amazement and scrambled to open their documents on their computer as their fingers typed away eagerly to mark down their observations. I couldn’t help but beam brightly as I glowed in the dimly-lit room as they looked back at me and the pile of destroyed cables on the ground. Too easy.</p><p>“Phenomenal.” It was all my little Vice Admiral could say about me. “Absolutely phenomenal. Your strength is truly top-notch along with how quickly your AI has been advancing. At this point, you may as well be a supercomputer in a humanoid body with the strength of an ox- no, 5 oxes.” Their fingers flitted over the keyboard as it loudly clacked, the monitor reflecting off their lenses as they concentrated deeply about their findings with the smallest of grins on their plump face. My heart, my brain, my body felt warm and helpless at the sight of them so happy. It’s not a very common sight to behold and I may have been recently born, but I felt my whole life lead up to this very moment as this warmth in my chest grew and grew to the point that I felt like I was on fire. I never want this moment to end-</p><p>“VICE ADMIRAL MOMOOOOO~!”</p><p>G̶o̷d̶ ̸d̵a̴m̸n̸ ̴i̶t̵.̸</p><p>The lab door opened as White quickly slid into the room, their annoying face making my stomach tie itself in knots due to how plastic their smile looked. Ruining my moment with my creator so nonchalantly. Disgusting. Deplorable. They won't’ get away so easily w̵i̷t̸h̸ ̶t̸h̸i̸s̸.</p><p>Momo sighed as they stopped tapping at their keyboard and turned around to look at the prettyboy. “Yes, White, what is it?”</p><p>He walked over to Momo happily, but kept an eye on me and tried to keep a good distance from my reach, as they approached with a package in hand. I tried to keep civil and smile, but I wanted more than anything to just throw them out of our lab. We were busy.</p><p>“Looks like the DJ over at the Cast Tech district got you a little somethin’-somethin’.” He said with a mischievous wink. I wanted to gag, but what happened next really made me want to explode. Their face turned a bright red as if they were lit up like an alarm at the sight of the package and sound of that man’s name. They were glowing over a dumb little box by that… orb-headed, inflated ego of a man. Everyone wants to take my mentor’s limited time away from me. Why. Why? Why why why why w̸h̶y̷ ẘ̷̘h̷͙̚y̵̘͆͝ ẘ̶̡̦̜ȟ̸̫͋ȳ̴͎̐̕͝ w̸͝ͅh̸͉̩̝̠̣͙̀̀̓ẏ̷̧̤͍͕̬̼̋̿͋̍̋ w̵̛̬͕͎̪̓͐̄̕͜ͅḩ̴͖̐͒̓͆͆ͅŷ̵̧̱?</p><p>They got up and gingerly grabbed the box from the ugly little playboy’s hands before opening the package by picking at the tape with their calloused fingers. I loomed over to look at the package to make sure that it was indeed safe to open and to make sure it wasn’t something inappropriate so I may remove it immediately. Surprisingly, it was a large purple cloth with a white note laying delicately on top with clean creases. Comparing that to the size of his hands he must have been very careful doing so without ripping the little paper. On the side facing up, however, was an even bigger surprise.</p><p>To Vice Admiral Momo and Defcon Zero.</p><p>… Me?</p><p>Momo placed the package on the broken table to pull the cloth out and watch it unfold over the large dent I made. It looked like a large piece of flowing fabric with a collar, almost similar to what that horrible man of a monitor wears without the faux fur but in shades of purple and orange of that of a setting sun with small tassels standing upward. Even the way the collar flared out looked like sun rays as well, if it was heavily stylized and you looked at it a certain way. Was it… Velvet with silk interior? It looked way too high-quality for it to be anything else. Bigger question; why did DJ Subatomic send this to Momo? It’s too large for them to wear. Unless-</p><p>“This is for you, Zero.” Momo looked up at me with raised eyebrows. I was too busy observing the gift to realize that they were looking over at the note with eloquent handwriting that I can’t really read from where I was standing above them easily. A gift for me? From DJ Subatomic Supernova? Impossible. I barely know the guy and from what information I did gather about him is that he rarely does ‘gifts’. He must really appreciate me I suppose. I may have to change my thoughts about him…</p><p>As they passed me the delicate item, White cleared their throat with a static-y ‘cough’ to get their attention with a somewhat guilty smile. Momo, seeming to know exactly what’s going on, groaned and rolled their eyes and their head as they looked over at him. “What did you all do this time?” White rocked coyishly on his heels like that of a child with his arms behind his back as he looked away. Looks like he’s in trouble.</p><p>“We... May have gotten Yellow stuck in the vents again.”</p><p>‘Again’?</p><p>“AGAIN?!”</p><p>White grinned a little bigger as he glowed a brighter off-white from embarrassment as he looked down and kicked the floor as he continued. “And Green got stuck in the chandelier as a bet-”</p><p>Momo groaned loudly as they pulled at their hair, ruining the tight bun they try to keep so clean. They run to the other side of the lab to grab a large pole leaning up in the corner and a large canister of what I assumed to be grease as they storm out the lab door in a huff, hitting White’s ankle on the way out with the pole without flinching as they follow with their head hung low.</p><p>Little did I know that was the last I was able to talk to them for the rest of the day.</p><p>After getting Yellow out of the vents with scraped paint and a leg pulled out of his socket and Green clattering to the ground from three stories high in the main lobby and breaking some joints, all five of them were holed up in the lab getting adjustments and new parts as Momo yelled at them for being careless again and to stop causing problems as they forced them down to fix their AI of the overly-intensified personality settings they put in them before me. The process took hours and all I could do was watch quietly and observe them all from the far wall of the room as my maker worked tirelessly on these maggots that dare call themselves ‘the heartthrobs of Vinyl City’. I even caught some nasty glares from Red with an upturned nose and Blue’s stern ‘gaze’ from behind his glasses as if waiting for me to make a move. I stayed perfectly still to show who was the better one out of them all, gaze and pose stiff and ready to attack if they dare make another unnecessary move on me or the Vice Admiral again. Luckily for them they were well behaved through the whole procedure. Damn.</p><p>All five left the lab with a more mellowed expression, as if nothing happened and were content with the events that unfolded despite my Vice Admiral being tired, sweaty, and covered in paint, grease, and oil stains from the grueling procedure of putting the wriggling soldiers back together. They didn’t even salute me goodbye as they dragged themselves back to their room to rest. I’m glad that they took themselves to bed, but not at all over as to the process it took to get there. Not a single thanks from those selfish men. No, robots. Pathetic excuse of a tin can. I’ll never be anything like those ungrateful containers of nuts and bolts. I̴'̵m̶ ̶b̴e̴t̷t̶e̴r̶ ̶t̶h̷a̸n̶ ̵t̴h̸e̵m̴.̷</p><p>I managed to put the cape on before they return with the broken boys while being as delicate as possible. Such a high-quality gift from a highly regarded man needed to be handled with the utmost care and I managed to put it on without tearing knowing my inhumane strength. However I was indeed curious about the note that they left so I grabbed it and kept it in my hand the whole time for me to read later. Well, since Vice Admiral Momo is out now is the most opportune time....</p><p>The letter disgusted me.</p><p>To the Vice Admiral,<br/>I bring you this gift as an offering of my gratitude to give to that robotic fellow you made for me for the upcoming performance soon to arrive in the following days. I am forever grateful for the effort that you put into it as much as you do all your inventions. I know I can get long-winded with my words, as you have told me yourself in lighthearted jest, and will keep this letter short for your satisfaction and to not waste any of your limited time and mine. Now I am aware that for you this is rather a last minute adjustment and this gift is rather unlike me to present, but I do wish to give you my highest thanks by offering you this eloquent cloak to give to the defcon model to show my appreciation and that he is to belong to me that I had custom-made as soon as you showed me it. As you are aware I am rather fashionable and wish for it to be reflected throughout the performance my brilliance and light through your creations as well. I see potential in you, starlig Momo, so don’t let that philistine of an Admiral tell you that it looks ‘disrespectful or ‘distasteful’ (both the garment and your craft). He just does not see our creativity in the same light. I do wish to thank you on a personal level as well to properly show my gratitude, so please see me after the performance for me to give it to you. Does dinner sound appropriate?<br/>DJ Subatomic Supernova, the man to change the universe and beyond<br/>P.S. I also wanted to thank you for the USB with the adjusted codes for the lighting for the performance. I couldn't for the life of me get my imbecil of a tech crew to understand how the programs worked and I was far too busy to do it for them. Another reason as to why I appreciate all that you do. I do hope you enjoy French cuisine to show my gratitude.</p><p>I crumpled the paper so quickly I thought I was going to destroy my fingers. What is this? What is this disgrace? ‘Dinner’? What does eating have to do with anything? What is a ‘starlig’ and why was it crossed out? Is this all a joke? No, this has to be a threat. A plan to get them alone and hurt them or hide them away from me where I can’t protect them. This is all a trick for me to drop my guard with this stupid cape and smother us with his large vocabulary and kind words. I’m aware of his abilities, his influence, his strength. DJ Subatomic Supernova, a man of many mysteries and talents, is trying to hurt MY Vice Admiral. To kidnap them and take them away from ME. M̷̰͝É̸̻. So I can’t protect them and do my job. If I can’t protect them, what am I? W̷H̴O̸ ̷a̸m̵ ̷I̵?̸</p><p>This won’t stand. Without the Vice Admiral, I am of no use. No purpose. I am nothing.</p><p>N̴̤̏̃ ̴̧̯̥̹̐̐͌͌Ơ̵̈̆͊ͅ ̵͉̯̊͝͠T̸̪̫̲̯͌̀̔ ̷̖̻̂H̶̱̰̫́ ̸̨̈́̉̿Į̷̱͚̚ ̷̧̩̭̈͠N̷̰̥͆̌̒ ̵̺̗̅̏͌͝G̸̳̟̍͊̎.̴͖̜͌̂̆ͅ</p><hr/><p>The next day came too quickly yet too slow at the same time. I forgot how long I sat on my slab with eyes wide open as I heard the echo of the clock in the dark lab tick in the empty room. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. T̸i̶c̶k̴.̴ I was about to lose my mind. Why is everything moving so quickly but time is inching by? This isn’t right, but it’s reality. Is it? I’m losing focus. I have a duty to upkeep. It’s why I was made after all.</p><p>The door opened. I shot up quickly and removed myself from my cold, metal bed as a wire snapped out of a hole in my neck as I felt a sharp sting when it was yanked out. Wait, no I didn’t. Why didn’t I? I think I made it uṕ̸͜͜ͅ. I can̵'̴t̷ think straig̸h̵t̵. I have to focus. Focus…</p><p>“Good morning, my hard-working creator!” I pushed that out my teeth to sound as enthusiastic as I could. If I’m being honest I’m not sure if I slept right at all. I feel half-alive and barely got much sleep because I feel stiff and heavy. Like I’m made of metal.</p><p>Poor Momo looked just as dead as their eyes looked sunken in as they clutched another cup of coffee and a confectionary in their hands covered in an artificial pink coating that could stain your skin as they took a large bite out of it. “G’mornin’,” Crumbs spilled out of their mouth as they slowly chewed the circular treat as they spoke. They looked absolutely horrible and I can’t do much to help their situation. I’m failing them. Failing. Failing. F̷a̸i̷l̴i̶n̷g̸.̵.̷.̸</p><p>“I-is there anything I can do to help you with your work today, Momo? It can be anything!” Please let me help you from the pit you call your work. Nobody here wants to help you, so let me. Please. All they want is to have your time away from work and push you further back, yelling at you later. Everyone is so selfish to do so, so let me be of any assistance to help lift the burden off your shoulders. I have to make sure you’re protected for tomorrow. Or was it tonight? God, I can’t keep focus.</p><p>I just want to help you.</p><p>The short uniformed soldier thought for a minute before dragging themselves back to their horrible little office chair and slumped over with a sip. “I can’t really think of anything for you to help me with. I’m normally fine on my own.”</p><p>U̶n̷a̶c̸c̵e̷p̶t̷a̸b̴l̸e̵ ̷a̸n̷s̷w̵e̸r̷.̵</p><p>“Nothing? Not even something minor? Here, I can think of something.” I can’t think of something. At least, not anything worth acting on. All I can think of is that weird little thing they were eating as I plucked it out of their small fingers as it crumbled effortlessly in my own. So easy to destroy. So insignificant. So artificial and p̶a̸t̵h̷e̸t̸i̸c̴. Momo needs- no, DESERVES better, than the garbage this giant neon-glowing cage can provide for them that they sacrifice so much for. So I shall provide. “I’ll make you some proper food.”</p><p>“... You’re going to cook. For me.” Momo looked up at me with doubt in their dark eyes, eyebrows raised as they lean back in their chair and sip their drink again. Look u̷p̵ at me a different way please I b̸e̶ ̷g̵ ̸y̷o̷u I just want to help.</p><p>I didn’t even think twice and I quickly strode out of the lab with my mind buzzing and aching. I had to think of something for them to eat. We have to get something in us to continue forward after all and making sure one’s health is in top condition is part of my job. I must. I have to complete this task for the Vice Admiral no matter what. The mess hall. Kitchen. Whatever it’s called- where is it? I kept scanning the halls before descending down the stairs and smelling something- wait, smell? When was that something I could do? No time, just act Zero. Kitchen. Right. I stormed through the kitchen in the direction of the smell. I believe it was… Eggs. Something greasy as well that hung strong in the air. Fruits as well, fresh ones at that. If I remember correctly a cup is necessary a day to have a healthy diet, and Momo needs to be healthy ASAP. Let me just grab what I need and-</p><p>“Ah! The security bot. Good morning! Doing your morning rounds, I assume?”</p><p>Y̵̻̅̅ O̵͚̝̦͇̐́͘ Ǘ̷̡͎͙͉̒͝.̵̢̡̮̰͓̻̼̍̄̂̆̐̔́̌</p><p>Ian. Whatever your name is. I don’t give a damn. He’s standing in front of the stove cooking a large feast for the others in the mansion to enjoy I assume. In front of MY goal. Don’t talk to me don’t look at me don’t even pay any attention to me you f̷̢̋̍i̴͙͗l̸̹͑́t̸̨͔̐̚ͅḧ̸̻.̸̫̳͒͝͝.</p><p>But I have to be civil. I strained a smile that curled from the edges of my mouth as I walked closer to them to get what I needed and leave. “Fine. Just fine. May I have a serving, I̶ ̴a̵ ̶n̴?̸” Disgusting. They have the gall to look at me with such an artificial expression on their metallic face. I know they’re looking down at me internally with their cold, lifeless eyes of theirs and silently judging me just like everyone else. He’s jealous of my abilities and strength. The fact that I’m Momo’s most recent project and demanding the most attention from instead of him. I just know it.</p><p>Ian’s cookie-cutter face wrinkles slightly as I spoke. “You sound sick, if that’s possible for a being like you. As if you have a frog in your throat. Mayhaps it’s an error in your audio settings?” My what? “Either way, let me give you some food. I assume it’s for Master Momo, correct? I mean,” He chuckled lightly, mockingly so, “we don’t have much use for this stuff, don’t we? It wouldn't be beneficial to ‘eat’, after all,”. In the name of NSR S̷T̴O̷P̴ T̸̮̭̑A̴͓̫̩͊̈L̸͖̝͕̃K̶̭I̷̠̻͎͐̚͝N̵͍͔̤G̶̰͆̈́͝.̵̞͙͘.</p><p>I never wanted to leave a room so quickly. With the most delicate touch that I could muster so my maker can have some substance, I grabbed the plate of food with a pile of some yellow mushy crap, fried meat, and little red balls that smelled sour and ran back to the lab. Momo was alone in there for too long without me. They could be hurt! I was a fool to leave for so long. Damn that cocky butler…</p><p>Thank god nothing did happen when I left. I don’t even remember how long I was away from them. My sense of time has been horribly skewed due to that stupid letter making me think so hard about every and any possibility that DJ Subatomic could steal Momo away and hide them forever, possibly to torture and manipulate to his advantage. I don’t think so. Not on my watch. Momo is still sitting in their seat as they type away at their desk. Somehow hearing their rhythmic typing soothed me as I felt my body relax and muscles loosen. This is how it should always be when I’m around: calming, relaxing, safe and warm. Always.</p><p>I knock gently on the doorframe to let my presence be known with a softer smile. Their little head perked up as they swiveled in their chair to look at me. The light reflecting off their large glasses couldn’t hide their surprised expression as I stood in the doorway with a plate of food. I assumed they weren’t expecting me to actually come back with something so brilliant I assume. Well, it’s time for them to realize that I do nothing half-assed, especially towards my Vice Admiral. “Hope you like your eggs…” I looked down at the plate quickly. “... Scrambled!”</p><p>Their dark eyes blinked to take in the scenario as I slowly approached them, mindful to not ruin the plate as I delicately passed it onto them and bending down to a more comfortable level for them to grab it. They’re so small, innocent, like that of a little animal. I simply have to protect them at all costs. It’s my main objective. They’re my main objective. With a small ‘thank you’ Momo grabbed the plate and eagerly ate their breakfast as I watched in amazement how happily they loved my offering. I can only imagine how long they had a decent meal. In fact, I don’t really remember seeing them eat as much since I was first brought into this world. The very thought made my chest ache as I observed them hungrily clean their plate as they typed at their desk at the same time. They truly don’t waste any time, constantly working until they fall asleep at their desk like the first time or to the point of absolute exhaustion. I won’t let that happen anymore now that I’m going to be by their side as long as I live and breathe.</p><p>I felt time slow down to a more moderate level as I observed Vice Admiral Momo working at their desk. I did all I could to make sure they were comfortable and to not strain themselves for the biggest danger to oneself is, well, themselves, so I kept busy to ensure their absolute comfort. When they got cold, I searched the whole mansion top to bottom for the warmest blanket to give them. I made sure they stretched now and then when I felt they were stationary for too long, despite their complaints. I even actually made them lunch to eat myself just so I could avoid seeing that smug butler’s face again. It wasn’t good, but it wasn’t bad enough for Momo to throw away. Not bad for something I popped in a small microwave that I can only imagine tasted like cardboard with sauce on it. Nonetheless, seeing their happy face light up as they ate the weird circular disk in the palm of their hand made my heart beat faster. Their cute little face, a soft smile, their gaze bright and cheery. It was all the thanks I could ever need in life. I wanted to melt on the spot. I have to protect that smile, no matter what…</p><hr/><p>Today was the day. The lights, the music, the people, I stood in the middle of a large dome with flashing neon lights overhead as workers in white coats ran to and fro across the equally-bright LED floor, music muffled as I stand next to DJ Subatomic Supernova adjusting the settings on his Orbital DJ-9000 for tonight. Honestly, I couldn’t remember what I did before I got up here. The last thing I remembered was that I was with my Vice Admiral preparing for the party with some last-minute strength testing with those cables again (which I succeeded flawlessly in) and some other minor tests, such as running to test my endurance and how quickly I can throw a punch (80 mph, mind you). Now I’m somehow all the way in the Cast Tech district as Momo stands right below me scratching a pen on a piece of paper on a clipboard next to… H̵i̸m̵.̶.</p><p>“Should I try and make the subwoofer louder, or keep it at the levels it is now to prevent complaining that the bass is too much? This has to be perfect, after all.” The DJ pondered as he tapped his ‘head’ and looked down at Momo as they tapped the nub of the pen on the board to think.</p><p>Momo shrugged, “As long as you think it’s comfortable, everyone else will think so too. Besides, if it was too low people would fall asleep.” I couldn’t help but let a chuckle at their sharp wit as I felt Subatomic’s gaze bear into my face and I straightened up, smiling like a fool. Good one, my little Momo.</p><p>The two talked and bickered away as I kept a close eye on the galactic mass standing next to me closely. That little letter is a warning, I’m sure of it. I have to be on high alert for both of them; to keep a close eye on DJ to make sure he makes no sudden moves and on Momo to make sure no moves are made towards them. The two continued to talk about the plans for the night as I observed them closely a few feet away from them. Suddenly, DJ Subatomic looks back at me and straightens his back before turning to completely face me. I stand firm and straighten up as well.</p><p>“I am very surprised with how well the cape seems to fit your attire, Defcon Zero.” The astrophysicist looked me up and down with an approving nod as he circled me around me to look at the entirety of the outfit. Making me lose my guard, huh? We’ll see about that.</p><p>“Are you satisfied having your time gawking at me, DJ Subatomic Supernova?” I smirked.</p><p>The look he gave me was truly delicious. The stars that normally softly glowed in his helmet flickered in annoyance as it dimmed slightly to a darker blue, the purples and reds slowly fading to a saturated hue. I suppose he didn’t expect me to reply back so strongly, if at all. He straightened up as he adjusted his jacket as he looked up at me closely with that displeased glint shining off his face as I saw my reflection bounce back off the smooth glassy surface with satisfaction. I’m not going to waver in the slightest and be on absolute high alert, so I tensed myself for any reaction he was to show. Instead I was met with a deep chuckle that rose from deep in his chest as he playfully patted my back and his face glowed brightly. He must have taken my snide comment as a joke and turned back to Momo with a chipper tone as my body tightened at the sight of the two of them slowly getting closer.</p><p>“Quite the humorous one you gave me here, Vice Admiral. Almost took it at face value. He must share your cut-throat dry humor!” Another hearty chuckle erupted from him as he reached around to place his large hand on their back as well. Their palm nearly swallowed their small frame whole and I can sense the tension between the two as his hand lingered for longer than I allowed it. He’s seconds from taking Momo away from me. I just know it. With a swift movement from my arm I snaked my way between the two of them and delicately pulled Momo out of his large hand and dragged them closer to me with a tense expression as I glared at DJ’s side profile. That same faint glow returned to him but this time it stayed as he looked back at me in cold silence, the only sound being the low bass trembling from the speakers as he stopped tuning his setup. His rage, however, was scorching hot as if I was looking directly into the sun itself. I felt the same type of anger rising from Neon J when we first met, but this time it felt… Different. I expected this to happen instead, so I was prepared. In fact, I somewhat wanted this to happen. His anger was something I looked forward to as I pressed my arm deeper into my creator into my leg, their own body warmth heating up my own with confusion at the situation unfolding as me and DJ Subatomic Supernova stared one another down over them. The whole scenario felt simply surreal. Simply… d̵e̴l̵iciou̵s̴.</p><p>Not another word was able to be said as a woman in those tacky little lab coats quietly spoke up for his attention with a meek voice, cowering once he turned around and made eye contact with the frail thing as their yellow hair whipped around their body in a frenzy as they trembled under the massive pressure that he barely attempted to hide. All the pink little lady could do was point a shaking hand over to the direction he is needed where a group of other similarly-dressed workers await further directions. They seemed to be more competent as they looked over some notes they have in folders and one is in a heated debate over the phone with somebody. With a heavy sigh he slowly stepped off his platform, shot one final glare at me and at Momo pressed to my body, and walked towards the group in silence. I really pissed him off now. I couldn’t help but let out a low rumble of a cackle echo in my chest over the victory. But the war isn’t over yet. I can’t let my guard down even for a second for whenever he is to strike again. I won’t lose you to the likes of these selfish ‘superstars’, as they call themselves. If they’re so super why do they prey on the weak? Pathetic, truly.</p><p>A gentle tap on my knee broke me out of my immersion as I looked down at the squished Vice Admiral, whom I was pressing onto my leg for a little too long. Their small face being pressed up to my calf as they looked up at me over their glasses and through their bangs was such a blessed sight to behold for they looked like a helpless little animal clinging to me for safety. Such big, dark eyes they had and a cute little mole near their eye. They look so weak and helpless, but as long as they stay in my grasp nothing will ever harm them. I swear that on my very own life.</p><p>After I released them from my clutches and apologized profusely if I hurt them and explained as to why I acted like that, we continued to check the planetarium’s monitors and systems to make sure they were running at top conditions. Throughout the entirety of the day I never left their side, even when they had to use the bathroom (okay, I stood by the door). I checked every door to make sure nobody came out at the same time as we walked past, closely observed every wire they touched to ensure it wouldn’t shock them, even swept away small debris on the ground they walked on so they wouldn’t slip on anything at all and risk hurting themselves. I didn’t even let other workers get too close for I didn’t know if they worked under DJ’s plan as well. He’s crafty with his words, so I wouldn’t put it past him to trick those around him to complete his dirty deeds.</p><p>Night was soon approaching and the lights were almost blinding outside the planetarium as the music grew louder and louder the lower the sun started to set. People were also quick to start filing in while wearing rather loud clothing that exposed most of their bodies. I grimaced at some of the sights I saw, but then again I’m not one to judge since I’m not even wearing pants, so I simply looked the other way as some wearing rather revealing outfits attempted to look me up and down in an predatorial way and I shooed them off with a forced smile. I kept as close to Momo as I could as crowds of people hustled by and workers were frantically scurrying around in the blinding lights to get last-minute tests completed. We both waited outside for a limousine to roll up along the streets next to us for a very important guest to arrive. Momo tapped their foot impatiently as the cold air surrounded them and sent a chill up their spine. Such a sad sight to see from my little Vice Admiral. I was about to reach to remove my cape to give to them to keep warm before a large vehicle parked right in front of us. It was almost TOO large. This thing looked like a yacht! After seeing who came out, however, I understood as to why and I wanted to just curl up over Momo and leave the area.</p><p>Neon J has the audacity to strut out of the limo with his copy/pasted boytoys and show up at the scene to be fawned over by these faceless strangers when his second-hand did all the work for him just to be seen at the event. I never wanted to punch his S̸̘̐̒T̷͖̹̈̚ͅƯ̶̤̿P̸̬̒̑Ì̸̧͛D̸̢̛̗͈̋ m̵o̸ ̷n̶itor of a face so b̸a̵d̶l̸ ̶y̶. He dismisses himself from the area to go to the back of the planetarium as he pushes his way through the croud, 1010 in tow as they take small ‘we-fies’ here and there with their fans and autographs as they follow in a strict line behind their boss. They’re behaving rather well now compared to when I last saw them shoving and stepping all over one another to get MY Vice Admiral’s attention. Looks like the updates they put into them were successful. I knew they could fix their barbaric behavior. Wasn’t a doubt in mind.</p><p>Wish they could of f̵u̴c̸k̶i̵n̶g̸ made way for me and Momo to follow after them however. Crowd surfing isn’t easy if the whole crowd is full of ravenous teens and young adults strung up on their ridiculous hormones as they push and shove both of us around like we are nothing. The fact they sometimes push too far and make me stumble makes ME feel like nothing. Having enough, I gingerly picked up the small human and held them in my arms as I stiffly marched out of the intense crowd. The good thing about my tall height is that when I make a ruckus, everyone is aware of it and makes sure to stay out of my way. My anger was quick to dissipate however as Momo, not wanting to fall into the ravenous crowd as they looked up in mixed fear and jealousy, clung to my cape cautiously to avoid falling over and pressed close to me to avoid their hateful glares. God, did it suddenly get warmer outside? My chest was burning up…</p><p>We both managed to make it inside in one piece and I gingerly placed them down near a roped-off section of the planetarium near DJ’s little chair/setup station as they adjusted their uniform accordingly to dress code. 1010 and Neon J weren't too far from us as they posed and sang little shanties for the crowd and paparazzi to take pictures of and fawn over later like the sheep they were. They flashed their bright neon cheeks and winked their color-coordinated eyes as they mimicked one another and dipped for a final pose as the crowd went wild and Neon J nodded in approval off to the side of them to not get caught in any photos. Despite his loud personality, he does not do photo shoots apparently. Momo cleared their throat loudly to get his attention and waved their arm around in an odd manner as if giving a signal. Nodding in understanding, he clicked his heels together and gave a sharp ‘ATTENTION’ that cut through the air over the music and squealing fangirls as the 5 metallic glow sticks snapped to attention and saluted.</p><p>“TROOPS!” The Admiral shouted, “DEPLOY TO YOUR POSITIONS! We shall commence with our battle plans and achieve victory tonight on the field!” For crying out loud just tell these walking toy soldiers of yours to get into their dance poses or something we don’t have all day for your rambling.</p><p>As expected of his soldiers they followed his orders without any hassle and saluted with a harmonious choir of ‘yes sir’s, marching to an area behind a thick door that seamlessly blended into the wall with its bright neon paneling. Neon J strides after them, as any decent leader should to ensure their stupid little henchmen don’t cause more trouble for Momo, but stops at the door to look back at us both and give us a small thumbs up. Well, give Momo a thumbs up, as if showing that he approved of their behavior and everything running smoothly. Although he did give credit where it was due, he lingered and stared for too long at Momo as they nodded back in understanding with that annoying blinking face of his in a sickly green. Who willingly likes the color green anyways? How annoying. I don’t want such an ugly color at all associated with my Momo in the slightest. They deserve something better than that ugly shade and I shall reflect that throughout if I am to watch over them tonight to keep them calm. Lets see… Something calming, yet nonthreatening enough for me to blend into my surroundings to keep an eye on them from afar and avoid them getting attacked. I scanned my surroundings for an answer and remained fixated on the flashing panels overhead. Yellow? Way too obvious. Green is completely out of the question. Blue? Seems rather close…</p><p>Purple!</p><p>With a delicate finger I tapped on Momo’s slender shoulder for them to look up at me as I tightly closed my eyes and my cheeks, hair, and arms flashed a bright purple color as I happily grinned down at them to wait for their approval. Instead I was met with a raised eyebrow as they looked me up and down. “What’s this for?”</p><p>“I believe that it would be beneficial for me to dress for the party completely, wouldn’t you think? Besides, I match DJ Subatomic if I do! Fantastic, isn't it?” I lied through my teeth. I could care less for this dumb party for everything about it was a hazard waiting to happen. The flashing lights, the booming music, the thrashing humans, I cared little for it all. I just… Want to keep my beloved creator safe from the horrors this world can provide that only I can prevent.</p><p>I was met with a nod in agreement as they patted my leg in satisfaction. At their touch I felt my body warm up significantly and I glowed a brighter hue as I stood up straighter. With every positive word and gentle touch from them I feel myself becoming stronger and with a deeper desire to keep anything away from them. Such a kind, hard working soul forced to toil away with no help or thanks from those that are supposed to support them in their endeavors to succeed and achieve their goals. Now I just want them to stand on top of it all alone with me right behind them because all they do is waste their precious time and complain about their work they work so tirelessly to perfect. If nobody will stand in their corner, then I shall be the sole pillar keeping them up.</p><p> </p><p>The hour has arrived. The lights have dimmed down significantly to prepare for DJ Subatomic’s grand entrance to his mixing booth, 1010 is underneath the floors awaiting for their social cues to pop up and dance to their part of the song, Momo is on the phone with the team behind the aquatic internet pop sensation known as ‘Sayu’ who is broadcasting the performance from a secluded area to show on the monitors overhead, and Eve (who arrived almost late due to a wardrobe malfunction) struts up the stairs behind the planetarium’s walls to a seat high in the ceiling where she will have her dramatic descent near the finale in an outfit almost to eloquent to describe. Tatiana stands stiff as stone as she observes over everything in the dark room with roaring chatter as the people wait for the performance to soon begin in a secluded area of the dance floor roped off to the public with a gaze as strong and steely as iron. I heard of how intimidating she can be from my research and how the staff was terrified of making any mistakes saying that she would ‘toast them on sight’, but seeing her in person made the air almost insufferable to breathe in. For once I felt like I was the one that needed to be protected. But no, as long as I stand by my plan nothing will go wrong. Not only is Tatiana here, but so is Momo sitting on a small couch as they loudly speak into the phone to get their point across as Neon J stands on the other side of Tatiana at parade rest. I care little for the other two, so I am to stay as close to the Vice Admiral as humanly possi-</p><p>“What is this doing over here?” Tatiana’s sharp tongue cut through my thoughts like a sword as I focused my sights on them in bewilderment. I thought they were talking about another object out of place for the concert, but they had a large finger pointed directly at me with a tense expression. I even looked behind me to see if they were referring to anything else but was again cut short by her crisp voice. “Yes, I’m talking to you, security robot. State as to why you are here and not guarding DJ Subatomic like you were invented for? He’s the main attraction tonight, not whatever is over here.”</p><p>E̶x̴c̷u̵s̴e̷ ̵m̵e̵?</p><p>“W-why, Tatiana, ma’am, I am simply protecting my creator from-”</p><p>Tatiana quickly cut me off by raising a hand in objection. “From what? I am plenty sure they can take care of themselves. I seen the types of things that the Vice Admiral can do and they are possibly the most ready person here in case the need for protection is needed,” She next takes a step to the side and swipes a hand over to Neon J, who was too busy not caring for the conversation as he scanned the perimeter cautiously as well. “This would be a completely different story if Yinu and her mother were here, but the time would be very late for a child to stay up just for a concert that could potentially ruin her still-developing hearing. Besides, Neon J is capable enough to defend them if the time arises. He is supposed to keep an eye on them, after all…” She elbows him swiftly to the side as the Admiral grunts lightly and snaps his attention to the situation at hand, monitor blinking as he absorbs the context in.</p><p>“Of course, Captain! I will make sure my first mate is kept safe and secured! I, ah, not my first mate. My… Second-in-command, I mean!” The sentient computer cleared his throat as he adjusted his collar slightly to brush off the odd comment as if I wouldn’t hear it. I hate him. I hate him so much it’s almost insufferable how much I desperately want to cr̵u̸s̶h̵ ̵h̵i̷s̶ ̴f̷a̷c̶e̴ in with my hands. I̴̲̮̅͘t̷̝̮͐'̷͉̓l̶̳͑̒ļ̶̓ ̸̭̰̒b̷̤͊e̴͓̹̚ ̸̘͌͐s̴̡̼͐͌o̴̜̍ ̸̺̍̅e̷͓͜͝a̴̩̤͗̌s̵̝̫̾̓y̸̥̩͗̓.̵͚̈́̋</p><p>Without another word Tatiana shooed me away from my little Momo, still on the phone with a stressed expression as they pinched their eyebrows together trying to deal with four insufferable teenagers to make sure things run smoothly for what was to happen in the next few minutes. I hated this. I hated having to be forced away from Momo when their life could be in absolute danger. Every step I was forced to take was another step closer for that damned orb-headed fool to manage to hide them from the world they so desperately deserved. But I bit my tongue. This was THE boss of NSR. I can’t say no or everything I did, all the training and mental preparation, the bridges I burned with everyone in that damned mansion, would have been for nothing and I would leave the Vice Admiral all alone to suffer in silence. So please, my dear fragile creator, wait for me until I return to your side...</p><p>I glowed angrily as I stomped over next to where I was forced to be stationed as I watched Momo from afar. Tatiana snapped her fingers and pointed next to where Momo was sitting on the couch as she looked intensely at Neon J, a sign to show her little lap dog what to do and how to do it. I can applaud her for making the monster of a machine kneel to her every command, but I really wish that they didn’t make the two of them sit so closely to one another. I cared little for the fact that the crowd was cheering wildly as the lights flashed brightly around me and that DJ Sub-tier Super-egotistical gave his stupid little speech before he slaps that stupid record-spinning couch of his as the bass rumbled deep inside my bones. I didn’t pay attention to the screaming fans as they cheered and danced around me as some pulled out their small devices and recorded their ugly reactions. I didn’t even care that some were acting inappropriately with one another in the crowd right in front of me. My sights were focused far across the room to my Vice Admiral, who finally got off the phone with a huff and placed it on top of the armrest. They looked so tired. I blame all of this on the lights and the music an̴d̸ ̷t̶h̵e̸ ̵p̴e̵o̵p̸l̸e̶ ̶a̶̢̎n̸̟͋d̵͔̈ ̶̦́ỏ̸̡ñ̴͙ ̵̘̂T̸̟͒a̴̺͛ţ̷̇ỉ̵̱ã̸͕ṋ̷̀â̶̦ ̶͇̅a̵͇̾n̵͙̈́d̵̥̓ ̶̖o̴̹͊n̵̰̊ ̴̼͐ D̸̙͉̅J̶͔͈̃ ̷̘̈̐S̷̨̔ů̴̥͒b̵͚̜̄a̸̞̎ẗ̷̼̣́o̵̘̐m̶̫̔ì̴̠͍̑c̶̢̔ ̶̬̽a̵̛̟͒ņ̸̔d̸̠͉͑ ̶̠̔̈e̸̛͉͝s̷̡̹̓̉p̶̗͉̀͘ē̷̳̤c̴̫̍͝i̷̟͉̇͝ȁ̵̫l̴̗͝l̷̡̎̓y̸̛̝ ̵̟͝ớ̸̙ṉ̵̨́̚ ̴͍̮̏N̷̗̘̗̒̍̃̏̒͊̈̈̚͘e̷̢̧͍̠̰̰̺͓̰͗͂o̶̜͙͕͒̏̓̕n̵̦͋̂ ̷̡̛̠̲̪̟̯̖̩͎̹̎͗̈́̒̚J̸̢͖͉̮̱̮̤͗̀̀̈́̽̚. That dog. That ḇ̵̈́ ̷̼̈́å̴̝ ̸̹̆s̷͕̕ ̸͇̚t̷͔͝ ̸͉͑ä̵̪ ̴̺̽r̴͓̾ ̷̻̑d̶̺͋. That Ḍ̷̨̢̖͖͚̗̙̜͆̌͒͑͠͝Ï̸̢̞͓̲̱̝̳̣͎̬S̵̨̛̞̹͚̆͂̈́̃̇͘͝G̶̤͎̼̟̗̜̦̟̰̥̑͊̔̋̌͌̍͊͠͠ͅṚ̷̼̪͇̘̱̞̑͂͗̕A̵̧̹͙̯̤̜͖̤͔̗̐̓̄͝C̵̰̜͍̍͊͗̃̔̕E̶̪̬̲̹̝̗̙̻̎͗̓̔̍̌͘ ̸̳̻̬̲̖̺͈̐Ǫ̶̡̲͎̖͚̖͔̖͌͂̆͠F̸͚̫̯̈̉͗̓̇͆̈́͠ ̵̙̠̯͔̲͕̂͋̈̀̆̎͜͠A̵̺̺͇͍͈̯̓̑͛͐̓̋̆̚̕̕͜͝ ̸̛͙̩̰͚̈̽̈́͝͝M̴̲̘͐̇̈́̿̍̂̏̐̚Á̸̡̢̧̰̦̻̤̲̲͓̺͌̈́̏̍N̷̛͇̬̩̥̉̍̔̌̌̿͠͝.̸̈́̈́̒</p><p>How DARE he sit so closely to MY creator? He has no rights! He doesn’t deserve to sit close to them! This was all a plan, wasn’t it? The letter was a red herring for Neon J to get close to my dearly beloved Momo. That FUCKING DJ was in on it! How dare that decaying mass of rotting flesh move closer to them. How dare he talk to them. How dare he wave down a mindless drone to this stupid company over to give them a drink. How D̸A̴R̸E̴ he make them smile. H̵o̶w̵ D̵A̴R̶E̸ ̵H̸E̴ ̴M̴A̴K̵E̶ ̵T̷H̶E̵M̶ ̴L̷A̴U̸G̸H̴. Y̶O̶U̵ ̸H̷U̴R̶T̸ ̶T̵H̴E̵M̴.̵ I̸ ̸S̸A̷W̵ ̷Y̷O̶U̵ ̶H̶U̵R̵T̸ ̵T̴H̸E̵M̸!̴ H̸E̷'̵S̶ ̷G̴O̶I̷N̸G̶ ̶T̸O̵ ̶T̵A̸K̷E̷ ̵T̵H̷E̸M̸ A̶̩W̸͕̾A̷̜Y̷͍̍.̴̞̽ A̷̦W̸̟͝A̶̰Y̵͇͊ ̷̯͛F̴͇͆R̶̤̽O̷̲̊M̵̩͑ ̸͙̽M̷̃͜ ̴̱̍E̶͙.̸̭͊ HE’S TAKING MY M̶A̵K̴E̷R̵, MY C̸͔͛͑R̷̜͠E̴̗̪̒͊Ā̶̫̎T̸̥̘̀̒Ŏ̸̺R̶̰͛͒, MY R̴̝̥͍̋Ḙ̸̗̋A̷̛̘̰͍̠̳S̸̠͇̜̜̺̍̇O̶̪͊̑̇̓͐̆Ņ̶̛͍̣̖͉͙̔͂ ̸̙̫̻̬̟̅ͅO̶̡̨͔̮̹͋͑̊̊̕͘F̷̠͗̓͌̑͘ ̸̨͎̞̦̀̔̕B̵͚̈̀̓͗͊̕ ̸̢̦̭̥̋̃͑̓Ẻ̷͙̝͉̰͇̼́̽̾̒̕ ̸̧̬̊̈́̂̃Ì̷̧̦̈́̈͗̿̾ ̶̨̨̹̩̪̲͗̊͂̎̐N̴͔̗̥̺̪̤͒͝ ̸̝͕̒̎̈́G̷̦̥̙̻̓̈́ͅ, AWAY FROM ME RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY VERY EYES AND I̷̜̅̋̈́͘ ̴̯̮̘̋͜͝C̸̡̣͔̠̃̍͋A̴̢̟̺̼͊̈́Ņ̶̅́̿͘'̶̨̗͉͙̔̐͗T̸̲̈́̇ ̶͔̣̒̉D̸̤̟̘̞̾̒̚O̷̡̘̥͛ ̸͎̈́̒̋̓Â̵̢̙̤̈͗͛̈ ̶̡̠͉̹̘̋N̶͇͖̬̬̳̞͗͌̕ ̴̖̫͚͙̓̏̚̚͝Y̸͉͙͗̇͝ ̴͉̩͕̈́̾͋̇̀T̸̖̲̲̯̻̰̂͆̐̒ ̴̖͚̪̒̓H̴̛̖͍̝̬̖̟͆̔̆̕ ̷̧̧̠̙̣͇̓͊͆͐Ȋ̴̛̛̜͎̼̻ ̵̻̞̦̺̰̿̾̒N̵̡̦͚̍ ̶̟͂͊́G̶̩̓̔̽!̸̢̨͉̪͐̍̐. I HATE HIM. I HATE HIM. I HATE HIM I HATE HIM I H̸A̶T̶E̴ ̶ HIM I̵ ̵H̸A̶T̶E̴ ̶H̸I̴M̷ I̵͉͔͂ ̸̘͌H̸̡͌A̸̩͕͊Ţ̷̛̱Ȩ̷̊̄ ̷̪̜̚H̴̞͓̑̇I̷͓̐M̸͍̲̂͋ I̶̼̟̓́̈́̃ ̸̗̠͍͍̈̌̑̈́̎̄͒͝ ̴̝̱̼̩̭̓̿͠ ̸͈͉̗̂H̵̖̟̬̱͚̉̓̽ ̸̞̋̐͠Ą̶̢̝̻̬͉̃͜ ̴̢͎̩̙͍̟̣̿͒̐̾͂͘͝ͅT̶̗͇̘͍͙̘̥̓̀̅͋̅ ̶̛͎̰̠͇̣̝͋͂́̑̽͝͝E̷͔͔͊͆̅̕͝͝ ̷̪̳̠̪̬͂͐͘ ̷̘̟̥̙͔͂͌͛̇͆̇͜͠͝ ̷̙̠̍̾̍ ̴̡͇̫̦̤͙͕͉͂͗̌H̸̬̜̲̰̖͓͗͒̄̈͐͂̈́͝ ̴̛͎̺̞͖͈̄̌̅͠ͅI̵̪͒̈́̏̿̿ ̷͇̘̥͍̤̎̈́̐̉͘͜M̶̞̬̳̑---</p><p>“Oops! Sorry! Didn’t mean to bump into you’”</p><p> </p><p>“S̵̨͈̝̍̓͛̉͌̄̾̂͝Ị̶̰͙͈͕̎͆̔͛͒͐̚͝͝Ļ̸̨̨̡̢̮̪̙̠̺͆̊͆͊̉̓̈́͝͝Ẻ̵̼̿̒̐̏̂͋͠N̷̩̦͇͚̎͊͛̀C̴̪͕͆͋͘E̴̠͂̈̅̇̇͠!̶̟̜̹̤̞̖͙̫̍̌͑̍͝”</p><p>……….</p><p>Screaming.</p><p>I hear screaming.</p><p>Ear-splitting screaming.</p><p>It’s all my ringing ears can hear.</p><p>Ŝ̷͎̺c̵̺͒r̶̪̉͝e̵̝̦̽a̶͔̻̋̿m̷͍̈i̶̘̦̐̓n̸̪̋̿g̸̠͚͊.̸̟̽</p><p>“MONSTER!” “DEMON!” “MURDERER!” “GET AWAY FROM ME!”</p><p>I look down at the sounds as my vision focuses on what’s around me. Something… Warm is in my hands. When did I grab something? What is this? It’s wet and slimy and smells putrid. Squishy, yet sharp at the same time. What is this? Red. It’s red. So much red. Soft cables as well? It’s leaking something disgusting onto the floor underneath me among more red and spills across the glowing floors underneath in a deep scarlet hue with something darker mixing into it coming from these soft cables. I think they’re pipes, actually. I grabbed the weird squishy thing in my hands as I felt something crunch inside effortlessly as bits of hard white substances spilled out with the dark liquid, like that of the styrofoam cup I failed to grab when I was activated. Was this a really big, really awkward cup of coffee? Must be. It smells strong, it’s warm, there’s white things everywhere, and there’s a lot of it in such a small container. Was this…</p><p>Was this a gift from Momo?</p><p>Yes. Yes it is. They wanted to give me that coffee in the lab the other day but I would rather be torn apart limb from limb than take anything that Admiral Neon J would give me. They gave me this one themselves, they must have. It’s the appropriate size for it fits right in my strong hands. It’s somewhat broken as the liquid spills all over my body and stains my vest that they gave me, but they gave it to me, so it’s ok if it all gets dirty. Right? They’re a forgiving person. So kind. So sweet and soft. They’ll forgive me. They’ll have to forgive me. They care for me and my development after all. 1010 doesn’t care for me. Ian doesn’t care for me. I know damn well that Neon J doesn’t care for me and neither does DJ Subatomic Supernova. Even Tatiana doesn’t care for me and she just met me. Nobody on this damned planet cares for me. Only Momo does. And they gave me this blessed gift to show they did.</p><p>I smiled. I smiled so wide I felt my face crack. I smiled and smiled as I looked down at the gift they gave me, its warmth slowly dripping onto the floor as I held it closer to me. I must have tried to drink it without realizing because some of it seems to be dripping into my eye and I feel it seeping into my mouth. Such a sharp metallic taste. This must be what it tastes like. It really does wake me up inside. Delicious. Absolutely D̸̟̫̬̭̙̖̽͗͂̽Ë̷̱͇̃͆L̵̜̰͇̙̐̕͠ͅI̶̼̼͓̖̥̬̓̂̕̚C̶̳̠̣̄̌̒O̸̟͋͠Ū̴̡͓̣̿͑S̴̠̉̎̀͊͘ͅ.̶̘͇͔͋͆̄̔̌͝</p><p> </p><p>Ȉ̷͎͍̖͎̌ ̴̢̹̜͔͈̻̪̑̃̒͠ ̷̹̾͝ ̸̳̲̣̥̇̈͝f̶̧͈͓̖̗͓͍̓̐̍̋ ̴̱͎̞͇̙̟̞̥͊͛̆̉̈̊e̷̱̞͓̬̞͒̈́̆̑̒̓͛͝͠ ̵̼͉͗̌̈́̍̿̐̓́̽͌̐e̵͙̥̚ ̷͕̭͎̤͍̈́͘͝l̸̛͔͖͇̤̝̠͇̞̥̿͋̎͂͑̍̽̎͜͝ͅͅ ̶̻͈̭̳͉̊̾͝ͅ ̶̛͈̫͍̝͍͕̮̠͚͑̏̍͒̆̿̀̎͜͜͝ͅ ̷͍̩̞̱͉̫̱͕̣͍̤̘̉̎͊͆̑̄̽̈́̍͝a̸̘̲̭̳̠̠̣͇̬͖͓͛ ̴̧̱͕̞̄̓̎͑̚͝l̷͎͉̜̬̩͉̗̭͉͇̖̝̆̍̏ ̶̱̖̲͈͕̻̗͎̭̎̌̉̓i̵̢̳͙̝̝̟͈͓̖̠̍̐̓̀̿̍̅͝ ̶̢̡͉̙̻̮̣̲̣͖̈́̈́v̸̥̿͐̀͊̓̃̐̕̕͝͝ ̸͚͒̃̿̿̅̉̈̑̀̉ͅe̶̛̳͖̣͛͂̂̈͐̔͒͘͝͠.̷̛͖͔͉̠̘̿̿̕ͅ</p><p>Ahaha.</p><p>Ahahaha̸̙͘h̸̟͝å̵͙.̶̤͘</p><p>Ah a haha ah̷̛̘̗̠̻͕̝̒̐͐̿͜ȁ̴̖̫̘̲͊͂̒̕ͅh̴̼̠̀̍̾ͅa̸̗̤̲̭͇͕̋͜ ̷̱͚͈͂̅h̴̙̲̳̩͐̐̐͘ͅȃ̵͕̯̟͕̤̬̹̀͆͝ ̵̛̦̭̮̞͓͕͎̾̔̒͐h̸̢̯͈̹̺̒̽̔̿͠ä̸̧̨̲͇̯́̓́̕ ̷̡̛̺̭͚͖̂̾̇͒ḫ̶̠͈͕̖̱͊̅á̵̛̘͎̱̅̾̀̈́̄̄h̶̻̆̑́̈͆͆͠ ̶̛̞̅̅̓̋a̵̹̋́̌̒̾͜͜͝l̴̛̙̜͙̟̋͐͠͠H̸͍͂A̵̗̝̬̤͔̟͆̉̈̕͠͝ ̴̡͓̗̠͇̬̺̗͙̩̥̘̇̅̇̾̓͗̽̀̑͋͘H̶̨̡̨̨̩̫͓͍̬̬̩̝͍͚͎̋ͅĄ̵̱̬̯͔̭̪͕̩̩̮̩̪̣̹͎͉͑̏͜ͅ ̵̨̯̳̖̻͕̹̈́̇̔̾̔͒̂̓̒̽́̇̐̏͊̾͘̕͝Ḧ̶̢͚̙̥̹͓͙̠̞̪̜̦̻́̈̄̒̒͆͌̈̀̍ͅA̶̜̼͖͖̋̓̈́̾̇̍̐͋̈̂͊̆̃͌͆͂͋̒̕H̶̡̝̭̯͙͖̝̩̙̙͔̻̪̙̫̪̙̹͉̖͠A̸̦̺̻̳̣̔̽̄̽͐̑͊͑ ̶̨̡̝̠͈͓̣̰̓͐̽̊͘ͅḢ̴̛̤̜̜͇͕̘̙͔̭̭̪͈̯̻͕̝̠̻̯͑̄̈́͊̈́͂́̓̔͑̕͠Ą̸͇̝͈͓͈̘̱̠̣͎̺̺̳͓͎̝̅̎̈́͛̀̔͋̎͊͊͛̔̊̋́́̃͘͜.̶̦̭̮͎̝̳̅̍͆͒̕</p><p>M̸̠̾o̵̻̎ř̶̝e̴͙͛.̸̨͝ ̴̲͑I̸̡͂ ̵̲̋c̶͎̓r̴̗̀a̴͜͝v̸͕͂ȅ̸̡ ̸̠̏m̷̪̓o̸̜͌r̵̹̽e̴̗͐ ̴̪̅o̵̧͊f̸̧͑ ̴̮t̴͆ͅẖ̵͌i̴͔̚s̴̼͆ ̴̭̌g̶̻̓i̷̩͝f̶̥̊t̴͎̑ ̵̰̑f̷͇͐r̸̠̔o̸̟͊m̸̖͆ ̵̘̈́ḿ̴̭y̸͎̍ ̴̲͊d̴̅͜e̴̲͑ą̴r̵̳̆ľ̵͜y̶̘͝ ̸̪̐b̶̘͂e̵͉̊l̵̥͆o̷͚̽v̷̮̓e̵͔͊d̵̢̍.̷̝̂<br/>FOUR!<br/>M̶̨̀̔̀̚͝͝ ̴̯̘̬̯̇ ̴͈͆̅̆̐͝Ỏ̷̩ͅ ̶̥̯̫̓̓̔͒͝ ̷͚͍͊ ̸̗̳̭̿̊̌R̶͈̙͚̰͉͐̄̇ ̸̩͖̟̱͚̹̞̒ ̴̺̤̬̎̂̽̽͘ ̶̥̟̲̭͐͛̚͘Ȇ̷̯͕̝̭̈͆͛͜</p><p>THE ALARMS ARE BLARING. I DON’T CARE! BEEP BEEP BEEP ALL YOU WANT! I’M GOING TO HELP MYSELF TO MORE OF THIS WONDERFUL GIFT. ALL THESE CUPS FOR ME TO GRAB. I’LL HAVE ANOTHER! T̷W̸O̷!̷ T̸H̸R̵E̷E̸!̶ ̸F̶O̷U̶R̶!̵ HOW MANY MORE CAN I HAVE!? THEY CRUMBLE SO QUICKLY AS I REACH OUT AS I INTENDED! ALL OF THIS FOR ME TO TAKE AS GIFTS THE VICE ADMIRAL LEFT FOR ME! ALL M̷̥̽I̸̪͝N̷̳̮̆̋E̶̢͈̔͋! ̸̗̬̥̟͈̮̼̦͛͛͊͊͝A̶̡͓͖͕̹̭͈͙̐͝L̷̛͕̲͙̪̿̎̃̍͘L̸̰͔̖͙̬͇̀͐̊͝ͅ ̷̗̣̜̣̥̺͖̲̤̔̂M̷̬̥̥̣̪͓͐͆̈́͌͜Į̶̡̲̦̳̼̪̹̈́͗̈́͜N̶̥͓͚̟͕̈́̒Ë̸̩͗̀̃͝!̵͚͓͈̮̝̫̘̈́͗͆̒̌̕͜!̴͓̣͚̠̦̒̆̾̔͒̐͠!̶̢̭͔͓̮̖̼̱͎̃͗̈́͑̈͑́̎</p><p>F̸I̴V̸E̷!̵ ̷A̶N̶O̵T̴H̵E̶R̵!̴ ̵M̵A̵K̷E̴ ̵I̷T̸ ̷S̷I̷X̷!̴ ̷T̸W̶O̴ ̶M̸O̴R̴E̷!̵!̶ ̸E̵I̶G̷H̵T̴ ̸L̶I̷T̸T̸L̵E̷ ̷C̵U̷P̵S̷ ̴A̶T̸ ̷M̴Y̴ ̸D̷I̶S̴P̸O̴S̶A̸L̷ ̵A̵L̸L̴ ̷D̵R̷A̵I̶N̴E̷D̸!̴ ̶I̴T̴’̴S̸ ̸A̵L̸L̵ ̸O̶V̸E̸R̸ ̸M̴E̷,̶ ̵B̴U̵T̸ ̶I̶ ̵D̶O̷N̷’̸T̶ ̷G̶I̶V̷E̵ ̸A̵ ̸D̷A̷M̷N̴.̵ ̴W̵H̵Y̷ ̴E̵L̵S̵E̵ ̵W̵O̵U̴L̴D̶ ̸T̷H̷E̴R̸E̵ ̷B̵E̶ ̷S̷O̷ ̸M̵A̶N̵Y̷ ̷I̵F̵ ̸N̸O̵T̶ ̵T̵O̴ ̶B̸E̴ ̵W̶A̸S̷T̸E̵D̷?̵!̶ ̸I̶ ̷H̸E̴A̵R̷ ̵T̶H̸E̴M̸ ̸A̶L̸L̵ ̶S̶C̶R̴E̶A̵M̴I̴N̵G̷ ̸F̸O̸R̷ ̴M̸E̸ ̶T̷O̸ ̴G̸R̵A̷B̷ ̸M̸O̵R̵E̸!̷ ̶‘̶P̷I̶C̸K̸ ̸M̵E̴!̴ ̷P̶I̸C̵K̶ ̵M̴E̸!̷’̸ ̸I̶S̷ ̴A̷L̷L̴ ̸T̴H̸E̷Y̷ ̴Y̷E̶L̶L̵.̶ ̸I̷ ̴S̸H̸A̶L̷L̸ ̶G̷R̵A̶N̴T̶ ̶Y̶O̸U̸R̶ ̶W̶I̴S̷H̶E̸S̷!̸ ̵N̴ ̷I̸ ̵N̵ ̸E̵!̵!̶!̶ ̶A̴R̶E̵ ̶Y̶O̴U̸ ̸P̸R̶O̷U̷D̸ ̵O̴F̷ ̵M̵E̴,̸ ̴M̶O̴M̴O̶?̸ ̷I̸ ̸A̶M̷ ̸E̶M̵B̸R̷A̷C̷I̷N̴G̴ ̵Y̸O̸U̵R̵ ̶G̵L̶O̷R̶I̸O̷U̸S̵ ̸G̵I̵F̷T̴S̸!̷ ̷Y̵O̴U̸R̷ ̴D̵E̷C̴L̴A̵R̵A̵T̶I̵O̶N̴S̴!̵ ̴Y̶O̵U̴R̵ ̷L̷O̸V̵E̵!̴ L̸E̴T̴ ̴M̷E̷ ̴H̵A̴V̴E̷ ̵O̶N̴E̸ ̷M̴O̴R̸E̷ ̴T̷O̴ ̷S̵H̶O̴W̷ ̷M̴Y̶ ̴A̸P̶P̸R̸E̸C̵I̶A̸T̷I̸O̶N̴ ̸T̵O̷W̷A̷R̷D̴S̸ ̴Y̴O̸U̵!̵ ̵L̴O̸O̵K̸ ̷A̸T̵ ̶M̶E̴,̵ ̵M̷Y̶ ̸B̶E̶L̸O̸V̷E̸D̶!̴ L̸̰̋ ̸̧̡͉̚ ̴̠̦̓̓O̷͆̿̕͜ ̸̡̢̹͆̆ ̸͎̖͓̔́Ỏ̵̱͑͊ ̴̪̱̯̈͐ ̴̖̉͜͠K̵͉͗͗͝-̷͎͇͠!̷̺̅!̸̭̍!̷̝͛̑</p><p>Horror. Absolute horror.</p><p>Momo stands stiffly in the roped-off area in absolute horror. Eyes wide, mouth open, face pale and body shaking. Like they saw a ghost. Where? I shall dispose of it. Show me where this menace is! I’ll remove it to protect you! I’ll kill it! I’LL K̴I̸L̵L̵ IT-</p><p>“ENOUGH!”</p><p>A force of over a thousand tons suddenly collapses on my body and I fall to the ground with a loud grating ‘thud’. What’s happening? I was simply relishing in the presence of my creator and their gifts that they bestowed among me. Look how happy I am over it! I can’t stop smiling, despite the fact that I’m face-down in a deep puddle of coffee and foam. Such a disgusting smell, yet a delectable taste. If I was able to, I would have happily drank it off the floor, but alas my body is not meant for large quantities of food consumption. I can’t let Momo’s gift go to waste. I have to thank them for this too! So let me up. Let me up. Whoever or whatever you are, l̶e̸t̸ ̴m̵e̷ ̵U̴ ̸ ̸ ̷P̵.̶</p><p>“What is the meaning of this?!” Tatiana’s yelling now, practically screaming. Why is she so angry? “I trusted you with this task and you brought me this DEFECTIVE pile of GARBAGE!” Wait, ‘defective’? What are they talking about. Wait.</p><p> </p><p>Wait. Wait wait wait wait-</p><p>I look up. She’s pointing at me with bitter rage as their body is aglow with flames. However, she’s looking with absolute disgust at...</p><p>Momo.</p><p>...Why.</p><p>Why is it their fault?</p><p>Why is it ALWAYS their fault?</p><p>They’re going to hurt them. Let me go. Whatever the hell you are let me GO!</p><p>“Quit struggling, you hung of scrap metal! You won’t escape my grasps! Not now, not again!”</p><p>That booming voice echoed through the planetarium as the walls trembled. None other than DJ Subatomic himself. How did he get so big? More importantly, the club for some reason is almost completely empty except for all the broken cups I left around. I can clean that up later. Is that why he’s upset? Everyone makes mistakes, so I can clean this one up easily! Just-</p><p>“L̵͈̔̑̿ȩ̵̱̯̦̒̿̾͋t̸̩̐̀͛ ̷̤̰̲͜͠m̸̡̦̳̰̑͌̆̚e̵͍̠̓͌ͅ ̴̯̅̾̽͝ģ̶̪̺͗o̷̢̝͒̂̚̚.̴̛͈”</p><p>… My voice seems to be hoarse. Must be because I was suddenly slammed so roughly onto the ground by that horrible excuse of a DJ. Am I not allowed to enjoy the simple things in life? Hypocritical of him, truly. My body also aches as well for moving makes my joints seem to creak as my body burns with each movement. Like it’s cracked. Impossible. I was born to be absolutely durable and withstand anything! I’m built like a tank! I was built like…</p><p>Built. I was built. If I was built, why do I feel so alive? Is it this coffee? No. It wasn’t the coffee. This…</p><p>This isn’t coffee.</p><p>Oh god this isn’t coffee.</p><p>I’m sitting in something putrid and I don’t know what it is. I was holding this, savoring this, enjoying this… unknown liquid. It’s so warm still, like that of a hug from them. So inviting and warm…</p><p>I felt it seep into my body. Now I know that it’s cracked for it leaks into my systems and staining each wire inside of me. This unbelievable warmth is something I never felt before. I want more of it. I want to keep it inside of me longer. But the pressure coming from DJ Subatomic, which I assume is his large hand, is keeping me down and crushing me slowly. I sparked and zapped as I struggled more to get out of his grasp but he swiftly brings his hammer of a fist down again and my body snapped loudly as I let out a broken gasp. I kept struggling and struggling, trying to get out of his grip so I can to to my Vice Admiral. I have to protect them from this mess. From DJ. From Tatiana. From Neon J-</p><p>What?</p><p>He’s. He’s holding them in his arms now. They’re trembling in his arms as he pulls them away from the room as Tatiana rushes the last of the staff out the building. I can see their mouth move as they scream and kick to try and reach me, but the buzzing in my ears is deafening. I can’t hear their please as Neon J drags them out slowly. I was right. Neon J WAS taking them away from me. This is his fault. I knew it. Ĭ̷͎̻͊̿̄͐̄͆͒͑̈͝͝ ̵̧̼̯͍̲̼̤͇̣̭͇͍͓̽͌̍Ķ̶̝̦͍̫̤̠̥̞̻̳̕͝N̶̨̠̙͈̞̙̉̾͛͂͜Ȩ̶͎͇͇̩̮͓̩̖̗̅̓̂̐̽̀W̴̧̟̰͉̼̱̪͉͎͋̎͂̓̐͛̓̓̌̅̕͝ ̶̭̫͑̎̃̎͌̈́̾̽̎̕͝͝ͅȈ̴̡̯̙̳̝̣̙̭̣̥̃̅̈́̒̊͑̔̈́T̶̛͖̜̜͕̥̱͉̠̬̘͙̱̈͗͌̽̇͝!̵̡̗̖̬̲̠͙͕̙͍̏̋̉̐̏̾̑͗̌̇</p><p> </p><p>“Į̸̛͖̹̳̹̰̗̻̱͉̃̂̀ͅ'̶̧̠̳̺͎̬̼̯͓̲͌̈͋͛̈́̀͛͐̕̕͜ͅĻ̶̮̭͍͔͙͆̔̋̏͘L̶̛͍̖̞͎̻͖̀̃̃͊͆̌̆̓̓̈́͝ ̸͎̠̪͓̼̮͎͖̞̏͋͜ͅK̶̲̥͓̱͓̼͕̩̹̳̳̃̍͗̋Ḯ̸͕̘̽͆͗̓͛̕͝͝͝͠L̷̙̘͗̊̓̔͝L̸̼̳̩̹̣̯̙̹̖̈̓͒̈́̓͛ͅͅ ̵̛̼̩̤̱̠̳̩̟̘̝͙̠̏͊̓̓̓̋̍̈̓̕͝Y̶̤͛͌̆̌͆̈́̓͂̚̕Õ̴̢̦̪͉̬̗̭̗̺͈̥̖͛͐̍̿̐̔͑͂͝͝Ų̴͈̼̬̟̮̺͈̖̬̻͛̅̔̍̍̔͒̈́̈́̾̂̈́͝ͅ!̷̨̢̮̤͔̗̝̲̜̰̈́͛̉͒́̆̄͂̓̒̂̚͜͝”</p><p> </p><p>I won’t stop until I kill you. I won’t rest until you’re dead. You’re taking them away from me. They gave me life and you taking them away from me makes me good as dead. You’re dead. All of you are dead. All of NSR. All of Vinyl City. Everyone that stands in my way of protecting Momo is DEAD. DEAD DEAD DEAD D̸E̶A̴D̸D̶E̷A̴D̶DD̴͎͍̗̙̗̼̣͗͆̕͘Ȩ̷̡̧̛͍͓̭̼̺͇͓̮͋̀͆̽̏͘͜͝A̶̰͔̥̘̞͇̞͂̆̓͜D̵͙̟͇͈̘͎̩̰̐̉͛̓̀͑̃̕͘Ḋ̶̡͉̝̭̻͉̝̓̂͗̂͗̎̇̉̋͠E̴̡̲̠̻͙̐̃́̿̀͋͘͘Ą̸̦̰͙̹̜̲̥͖͕̉͊̉D̵̥̤̝̞͐̈́̔́̐̇̎͛̇̕͝Ḓ̷̡̣̼͕̮̭͉͋͂̆͐̑̓͜E̷͍̙̹̣͠A̵̠̬͓̱̪̗̜̱̥̤͙͐͑́̈́̎̐̀ͅD̸̛͔͇̭͉͈̩̻̣̿̌͐̚----</p><p>C R A C K.</p><hr/><p>Dark.</p><p>Cold.</p><p>Heavy.</p><p>Where. Where am I.</p><p>Everything is black.</p><p>I can’t see. Everything is so dark. But I can hear.</p><p>Crying. Soft, muffled crying.</p><p>It sounds… Familiar.</p><p>…… Momo?</p><p>Why are you crying? I’m right here. You sound close, so let me hold you in my-</p><p>I can’t move my arms</p><p>In fact, I don’t think I can move anything. Where… Where are my legs? My chest feels hollow. Like I’ve been eviscerated. It hurts, but I can’t feel the pain. I feel so… Cold. I want warmth. I want to feel warm again. I want to be held.</p><p>Momo, please, hold me. I’m so cold. I’m so tired.</p><p>Why are you crying? I’m right here. I’m right here…</p><p>I can see something very faintly from my left eye. I think I’m in a dark room, but I’m not sure. There’s a lot of scrap metal and pieces in this room. All I see is the silhouette of Momo standing in the room with the light from the door behind them being the only source of light I can pick up with my eye- my sensors.</p><p>They’re so small… So helpless. They’re trembling weakly as they push a cart that I seem to be laying down on and leaving me in the room as they smother another sad gasp. Don’t hide your pain with me, Vice Admiral. Not anymore. Nobody is here to hurt you. Not with me around. Never again will anyone dare hurt you.</p><p>Why are you crying? I’m right here…</p><p>My battery feels drained. I feel drained. Something seems to be leaking out of my cracked body and face. All over my body stings slightly at what I think is battery acid and that weird dark liquid from the planetarium. How did I get here? How did I get on this weird cart? Where are my legs? So many questions, but I don’t think I can be awake any longer to ask more.</p><p>I just want to know why you’re crying, dearly beloved Momo. I can help. I was made to help. Please, let me help you. Don’t cry. I’ll be fine. You’ll fix me, right?</p><p>… Why are you leaving me?</p><p>Why are you leaving me in this dark room?</p><p>Why are you leaving me in this dark room alone?</p><p>You’re still crying. Please, Vice Admiral, let me help you. I want to help you stop crying. Please. Please let me help you. Let me please help you stop crying and ruining your face with those tears. You work so hard to fix me, so let me please fix you. Let me protect you. Please. My body is fail ing me. My b ody is le aking. M y b od y is co ld. I ’ m s o c o l d…</p><p>W h y a re y ou cry i n g? I ‘m r i g h t h e r e . . .</p><p> </p><p>-SIGNAL LOST-</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Follow my art twitter for more Defcon content at @momoch1_doodles or my other partners that helped make the designs for them all, @TWISTEDKEY, and the voices for all the other Defcon models @Defcon_Crusader!</p><p>Going to take a small break from writing chapter 3 to finish on other works. Check back now and then for more!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Follow my art twitter for more Defcon content at @momoch1_doodles or my other partners that helped make the designs for them all, @TWISTEDKEY, and the voices for all the other Defcon models @Defcon_Crusader!</p><p>Next chapter soon-ish.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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